Summer Lovin' in the South
by PGGF
Summary: Extremely AU Literati. Rory meets Jess while spending the summer in Kentucky on her grandparent's farm. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

Author: PGGF

Summary: Extremely AU. Rory lives in Hartford, Connecticut with her mother and step-father. Rory's never met her biological father so she refers to Chris as her dad. Chris and Lorelai are very wealthy and kind of stuck up. They've never really shown Rory much affection and keep her shipped off to boarding schools and ritzy summer camps so they don't have to deal with her. Richard and Emily live in Loretto, Kentucky on a farm. Lorelai basically cut them out of her life when she got married and they haven't actually seen Rory since she was very young. They still talk occasionally on the phone, but that's about it. Jess lives with his grandmother and works on Richard and Emily's farm. The backgrounds will be further explained throughout the story. Also, some of the other characters will be featured, but as this is an AU they'll be Kentucky as well. The story is mainly going to focus on Jess and Rory and I'm planning on it being fairly fluffy.

AN: I chose Kentucky for Richard and Emily to live in because that's where I'm from so I'm more comfortable with naming off places nearby that I'll be including in the story. In fact, their house and farm in the story is based on where my family and I lived for the best three years of my life. I've worked really hard on this so I hope you enjoy the story and please review when you've finished.

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Rory Gilmore sat on her bed looking around her room. School had let out for the summer and she had just gotten home from the all girl boarding school she had attended in Pennsylvania for the previous year. One would think that since she hadn't seen her parents in months they would be waiting to greet her with open arms but that was not the way of Lorelai and Chris Hayden. Luckily, they had remembered to send a car to pick her and her things up at the airport. Rory would never forget when she came home to visit for Christmas and they had forgotten to pick her up.

_She sat at the airport for hours before a maid finally showed up to take her home. Deep down she had hoped that her parents didn't show up because they were planning a surprise "welcome home for the holidays" party, but they were out of town for the evening. _

_When Rory was eating breakfast the next morning her mom walked in the kitchen and said, "Rory, what are you doing home?"_

_"Mom, it's Christmas break. I told you on the phone just last week I'd be home."_

_"Did you? It must have slipped my mind. Anyway, we're having a Christmas party tonight for your father's office so I'll call Annette and see if she can come over later to do your hair and make up, ok?"_

_"Do I have a choice?" Rory muttered._

_"What was that?" Lorelai asked, finally looking up from her organizer._

_Just as Rory was about to answer Chris walked in the room. He walked straight over to Lorelai and kissed her on the top of her hair and grabbing a mug of coffee sat down at the table with the morning paper._

_"Hi, Dad," Rory said trying to start a conversation._

_Chris looked up shocked. "Rory? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"_

_"I'm home for Christmas break."_

_"Oh. Very well then. How has the 10th grade been treating you so far?" He asked absorbed in the business section._

_"I'm actually in the 11th grade, Dad."_

_"That's great, honey."_

_"You could at least pretend to be interested in what I have to say," Rory mumbled._

_"Rory, we've talked about this before. If you want people to listen to and respect you then you need to stop mumbling," Lorelai said jotting notes down in her organizer._

_'Merry Christmas, Rory.' Was all she could think._

Rory had never met her biological father. When her mother was 16, and living in the small town of Loretto, Kentucky, she was desperate to get away. She hated the small town life and wanted more for herself than marrying some local farmer and popping out an army of kids to help man the farm, like all her friends seemed to want. She started dating a guy named Alex from a nearby county and fell prey to his lies of love and ideas of how when she turned 18 they would both get away and move to a bigger city. Instead all that happened was she got pregnant with Rory and then Alex dumped her and moved away. She never heard from him again. The day after Lorelai graduated high school she packed all of her and Rory's things, cleaned out her savings account, and wound up in Connecticut. Lorelai got a job as a waitress and quickly worked her way up to assistant manager while leaving Rory with an elderly woman in their building. When Lorelai was 20 years old she met Christopher Hayden and they married shortly after. Chris was a high powered attorney who was young, good looking, and came from a family full of "old money." Christopher wasted no time in moving Lorelai and Rory into his condo. Lorelai then quit her job at the restaurant and began to attending various social gatherings and organizing charities for Chris' office. Rory always felt like the third wheel around the two of them. They loved each other dearly and just seemed to tolerate Rory. When Rory started middle school, Lorelai and Christopher decided to send her to her first all girls boarding school in Vermont. They kept her away every school year and when she was home for the summer they would let her enjoy about a week to herself before sending her to ritzy summer camps she hated.

As she was looking around her room she began to wonder what summer camp she would be spending the next few months of her life at. She would much rather spend the summer reading in her room, but her parents would never allow that. They were always saying how important socialization was for someone Rory's age. Rory could care less about proper socialization. She was a bit of a loner, but she still had friends and went out on dates occasionally. She just preferred to be with people who weren't so caught up with appearances and money and she hadn't had much luck finding many.

The knocking at her door shook her out of her reverie. "Come in!" she shouted.

"Rory, sweetie, you have a phone call," Carol, the current maid, said.

"Thanks," Rory said taking the phone and wondering who would be calling her on the house phone and not her cellphone. "Hello?"

"Rory! How are you?" Her Grandpa Gilmore's voice boomed into the phone.

"I'm fine, Grandpa. How are you? How's Grandma?"

"We're doin' just fine. Doin' just fine. We were wonderin' if you'd want to maybe come and spend the summer with us on the farm? We haven't seen you in so long and thought it'd be nice to spend some time together before you start your senior year of high school. We know you'll be mighty busy and then before you know it you'll be headin' off to college."

To say Rory was shocked was an understatement. She hadn't seen her grandparents in several years and she was too young to remember living with them for until she was two years old. They talked on the phone a few times a year and they sent her cards for every holiday, but they hadn't visited in years. Lorelai kept in contact with them after moving out, but after she married Chris they didn't talk as much. Rory could recall her grandparents inviting them to the farm on several occasions, but seeing how Lorelai and Chris always declined they eventually gave up. Rory always wanted to go, but Lorelai just said that a farm was no place for a city girl. By the time she turned 10 she stopped asking.

"Grandpa, I would love that. I have to ask mom, of course, but I would love to come stay with you and Grandma for the summer." After the initial shock wore off, Rory could hardly contain her excitement.

"Do you want to ask her or do you want me to?"

"I'll ask her. I'll ask her tonight at dinner and call you back."

"Ok. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye, Grandpa."

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As Rory was eating dinner she was trying to figure out the best way to bring up the subject of going to Kentucky for the summer. Chris was reading from a stack of files next to him and Lorelai was yet again flipping through her organizer, crossing things out and writing other things in. Finally she decided to just go for it.

"Mom? Dad? Could I ask you something?"

After a moment they both looked up at her.

"Grandpa Gilmore called earlier and asked if I wanted to come spend the summer with him and Grandma in Kentucky and I've thought about it and I really want to go."

"Rory, we've been over this. You're a city girl. You wouldn't like living on a farm. Trust me. I spent 18 long years living on one and working on it. It's just not your thing. Besides, I thought you wanted to go to camp again. You always have so much fun."

"No, I don't. I've never liked camp. It's boring and it's full of stuck up people who I have no interest in and they have no interest in me. I spend the whole time talking to like one person or in my cabin reading. This summer is very important to me. It's the summer before my senior year and I know how stressful school is going to be and I just want to take the summer to relax and do my own thing."

"You can do your own thing on a farm in Kentucky?" Chris asked.

"Yes. I think it sounds like fun. I've always wanted to go back there and you never let me before. Please, just let me go now. Please." Rory wasn't above begging at this point. She really did not want to spend yet another summer surrounded by girls who didn't know Steinbeck from Kerouac. She wanted a summer she would actually enjoy for once.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to let you try it," Chris said.

"Really? You're going to let me go?" She asked looking at Lorelai.

"I guess. I would much rather you go to camp, but we'll see how this works out." Lorelai said before going back to marking in her organizer.

"Thank you. Thank you both!" She shouted, jumping up and surprising everyone, including herself, when she hugged them both tightly and ran to go call her grandparents.

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Two days later she was double checking her bags to make sure she had everything before David, her driver, took her to the airport. On her way out to the car she stopped into the kitchen for a drink when she noticed an envelope with her name on it. Inside it was a note from Lorelai saying that she had a fundraiser to attend that night was out shopping for a new dress and to call when she got to her grandparent's. She said that Chris had already left for the office, but he hoped she had a safe trip and to enjoy doing her own thing for the summer. Also in the envelope was a large amount of cash and a credit card. Stuffing everything back into the envelope and shoving it in her purse, she grabbed a bottle of apple juice, told the new maid goodbye and went out to the car.

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As Rory was walking through the airport in Louisville, Ky, she suddenly realized she wasn't exactly sure if she would recognize her Grandpa. She just stood there looking completely lost when suddenly a huge shadow appeared next to her.

"Rory!"

She turned to the voice and saw a very tall, older man in a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up and worn out jeans standing next to her.

"Grandpa..."

That was as far as she got before she was engulfed in his arms and crushed into his chest.

"It's so good to see you. I'm glad you made it. How was your flight? I'm not one for flyin.' Just ain't for me."

"It was fine, Grandpa. I slept most of the way."

"Well, I don't blame you a bit. Now let's grab your bags and get goin.' Emily is cookin' up a storm for you so I hope you're hungry."

"Starving," Rory said. She loved how comfortable she felt around her Grandpa. She had been worried that things would be tense or awkward, but he already made her feel so at home.

"Well, Emily will take care of that."

After they gathered up Rory's bags, Richard led them out to a red Chevrolet Silverado Half-ton extended cab truck. He unlocked the passenger side door and put Rory's bags in the backseat. He then turned to face her and holding out his hand for her to take, helped her into the truck. When he started the engine he turned to Rory and said, "Now that's the way a truck's supposed to sound. I'll tell you right now, you'll be hard pressed to find a better vehicle than a Chevy. I've said it for years and I'll say it again, I'd rather push a Chevy than drive a Ford."

Rory couldn't help but laugh. She could tell that she was going to get along great with her Grandpa. He seemed to really enjoy life and was so comforting to be around. She could only hope her Grandma was the same.

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They had been driving for about half an hour when Richard said, "Now we're comin' into Nelson County here. The main city here is Bardstown. Bardstown is home to My Old Kentucky Home and Stephen Foster - The Musical. There's also vintage trains and museums dedicated to the Civil War, railroads, and several distilleries. If you want, we can go visit all that sometime this summer."

"That would be great."

She loved that they had already made plans for later in the summer.

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Shortly after driving through Bardstown, Rory noticed fewer businesses and the houses got further and further away from each other. Also the roads got a lot curvier. The surroundings took her breath away. There were several trees providing shade for the roads and so many fields full of wildflowers off to the side.

"It's beautiful out here, Grandpa."

"You think it's beautiful now, you should see all of this in the fall when the leaves are changin.' All these years of seein' it and I still can't get over it."

"I can imagine."

"Maybe you can come see it sometime this fall."

"I'd like that. I like that a lot."

"Well, you're welcome here anytime. Anytime, we'd love to have you."

"Thanks."

"And now we're home," Richard said turning off the main road and into a gravel driveway.

Rory looked around. The gravel driveway went on for about half a mile and started out flat, but soon went uphill. As Richard rounded a turn, Rory could see the house clearer. It was a two story old farmhouse sitting on top of a hill. The outside had white vinyl siding with black shutters next to the windows. The front porch was very long and on either end were bright red, wooden swings. There was several yards of green, green grass all around the house and incasing it all in was a wooden fence painted black. In behind the house was a bright red building. On the left of the house and just outside of the fence was a garden. To the right of the house just outside out of the fence was a field full of cows. Rory also noticed several lakes on different parts of the land. It was clear that her grandparent's farm had many acres of land because all Rory could see past the house and the building for miles and miles was rolling, green hills.

"It's a lot to take in a first, but you get used to it pretty quick," Richard said as he stopped the truck.

"It's amazing."

"Well a lot goes on on this farm. We have cows, horses, chickens, goats, and pigs. We also raise our own tobacco crop. And you can see our garden right there. You can't see it now, but in the field behind the garden and all those trees is a lake that we swim in. But we can go on the full tour later. Now let's get inside and get some food," he said getting out of the truck and coming around to help Rory out. He grabbed her bags and lead the way over to a side door and as soon as he opened it Rory's nostrils were flooded with the most amazing smells she had ever encountered. They entered into a small room where they paused to take their shoes off before stepping through and into the living room. Richard sat her bags down next to the couch and led her into the kitchen. As soon as she stepped in she saw her Grandma hovering over several pots on the stove.

Rory hoped she was at least half as friendly as she looked, and taking in a deep breath, she said, "Hi, Grandma."

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Please review and let me know if I should continue this. Jess should be introduced in the next chapter. I proofread this twice and if I missed anything, I'm sorry.


	2. Chapter 2

Author: PGGF

Disclaimer: I don't anything except the idea.

Summary: Extremely AU. Rory lives in Hartford, Connecticut with her mother and step-father. Rory's never met her biological father so she refers to Chris as her dad. Chris and Lorelai are very wealthy and kind of stuck up. They've never really shown Rory much affection and keep her shipped off to boarding schools and ritzy summer camps so they don't have to deal with her. Richard and Emily live in Loretto, Kentucky on a farm. Lorelai basically cut them out of her life when she got married and they haven't actually seen Rory since she was very young. They still talk occasionally on the phone, but that's about it. Jess lives with his grandmother and works on Richard and Emily's farm. The backgrounds will be further explained throughout the story. Also, some of the other characters will be featured, but as this is an AU they'll be Kentucky as well. The story is mainly going to focus on Jess and Rory and I'm planning on it being fairly fluffy.

A/N: I am completely overwhelmed with the responses I got for this story. You all are amazing and I thank you very, very much. This chapter was actually supposed to be up days before this, but I was having problems with getting it to come up. It just would not work until today. Hopefully you'll think it was worth the wait.

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"Hi, Grandma."

At the sound of Rory's voice, Emily dropped the wooden spoon she was stirring with and turned around. "Oh, Rory! It's so good to have you here," she said as she rushed over to embrace her. Rory couldn't believe how welcome her grandparents made her feel. She felt more comfortable around them then she ever had around her own parents.

Emily pulled back, holding her at the shoulders, and said, "Now, let me get a good look at you. You've just grown so much since I last saw you. And you're becomin' such a beautiful young woman."

Rory blushed profusely at her praise. "Thanks."

"Oh, there ain't no need to get all embarrassed now. You're a beauty. You must drive all those city boys wild," she said with a shine in her eyes.

"I guess." She smiled back at Emily, her face still a little red.

Emily embraced her again and then said, "Alright, let's eat now and then we'll get you settled in, okay?"

"Great. I'm starved."

"Well, we'll just have to take care of that now, won't we? I made grilled bacon, tomato, and cheese sandwiches, green beans, macaroni and tomato, and salad."

"Sounds great."

"Emily is the best damn cook around here. You won't be the same after you eat her macaroni and tomato. I can promise you that," Richard told her with a smile. "Now what do you want to drink? We've got water, sweet tea, milk, juice, and coke. I recommend the sweet tea. It's just what you need on a humid day like today."

"Sweet tea is fine with me," Rory said as she was loading up her plate. She had food piled all over, but she couldn't help it. Every smelled and looked so great.

After everyone has settled at the table and began eating, Emily spoke up. "So does everything taste okay?"

"Everything is amazing, Grandma. And Grandpa was right. I don't think I'm ever going to be the same after the macaroni and tomato. It's the greatest thing I've ever tasted."

"Well, you used to love it when you were younger. You went through a phase where it was the only damn thing we could get you to eat," Emily laughed.

"Really? I didn't know that. Mom never tells me anything about when we lived here."

After saying that Rory felt guilty because Emily and Richard both just looked down at their plates and nodded. She had briefly forgotten how strained the relationship between Lorelai and her parents was. Wanting to fix the silence, Rory continued with, "Since I don't remember anything about when I lived here, maybe you can tell me sometime? I'd really love to know."

"Well I'd love to tell you," Emily said with a smile.

"Yeah, anything you want to know, just ask us and we'll tell you," Richard chimed in.

"I really am glad you invited me to stay with you. I can already tell that I'm going to love it here. The food is amazing and I cannot wait to look around and find out more about the farm," Rory informed them.

"After we get you settled in, I'm sure Richard can give you a tour of the farm. I'll be workin' in here for awhile because we're havin' a few friends over tonight for a barbeque for you."

"Oh, you don't have to go through the trouble of that," Rory insisted.

"It's all ready been takin' care of, Sugar. We figured we'd invite some of our friends over so you can meet them and a couple of kids your age so you'll know some people this summer."

"Kids my age?" Rory's ears perked up at that.

"Paris, Jess, and Dean," Richard answered.

"Paris is the daughter of our friends, Babette and Morey. They live in the house at the bottom of our driveway. In fact, you used to play with Paris when you were younger. Sometimes when your mom needed a sitter and we couldn't do it, Babette always did. She runs her own hair salon from her house. Morey, her husband, plays every instrument you can imagine and he works at a factory in town. Dean is her boyfriend. I reckon they've been together since elementary school. They fight like cats and dogs sometimes, but you need a crowbar to separate 'em other times. Jess is the grandson of one of my oldest and dearest friends, Wendy. He's lived with her for 'bout 15 years now. Sweet boy. He'd do anything in the world for you. He works with Richard on the farm."

"He's a damn good worker too," Richard said. "He's never late and even tries to work when he's sick. And on days when the job last longer than we planned he won't let me pay him overtime. Damn good boy."

"I look forward to meeting everyone," Rory said while thinking about what they had said about Jess. Both of her grandparents seemed to have a soft spot for him which made her feel even more of a need for him to like her.

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After lunch and finally convincing Emily to let her help clear the dishes and store the leftovers, Rory followed her grandparents through the house and up the wooden staircase.

"Now it's up to you which room you want to stay in," Emily was saying. "They're both the same size and have about the same amount of storage space and the bathroom connects them both in the middle."

The first room they looked in had dark gray carpet and beige walls. There was a bed, a nightstand, a vanity with a mirror, and two dressers, but with nothing on the walls the room seemed bare. The second room felt much cozier. The carpet was green and the walls were baby blue and had clouds sponge-painted on them. The bed was a full size with a wooden headboard that had shelves built in. There was also another bookshelf against a wall, and a dresser, a nightstand, and a desk in the corner.

"I really like this one," Rory said.

"This was your old room," Richard informed her. "After you and Lorelai left we decided to keep it the same for the next time you'd visit. I built the headboard after we heard that you loved to read."

"Thanks. I really love it."

They dropped the bags and Emily said, "We'll just leave you to get everything settled in. There's some hangers in the closet and if you need more just take them from the other bedroom. I put you some towels in the bathroom too.Now, I have some cleanin' to do for tonight and when you're finished up here Richard will take you for a tour of the farm."

"Okay."

After they left the room, Rory began to unpack all of all her clothes and put them away in the dresser and closet. She was glad she had thought ahead and purchased more shorts and tank tops because if today was any indication, she was in for a humid summer. After her clothes were put away she began shelving the books she brought with her. When that was finished she gathered up her beauty products and went to put them in the bathroom. Thankfully the bathroom was as fun as her bedroom. It was decorated in a rubber ducky theme. The floor mats were blue with rubber ducks on them as well as the toilet seat cover. The toothbrush holder was also in the shape of a rubber ducky. She noticed with great joy that not only was the bathroom decently sized and decorated nicely, but also held a deep, clawfoot bathtub. Her visit just kept getting nicer and nicer.

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"Grandpa, I finished putting everything away and I'm ready for the tour whenever you are," Rory said as she walked into the living room.

Richard sat his newspaper down and said, "Well let's get after it then."

They headed outside and Richard lead them towards the building behind the house. Parked just outside of the building was a John Deere Gator HPX. After they climbed in, Richard started the engine and turned to the left. There was a path around the building that suggested that the Gator had driven through the area many times before. As the path wore on Rory noticed more of the huge garden next to the house. "This is our garden. We grow all of our own organic fruits and vegetables. Squash, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchinis, carrots, turnips, green beans, corn, watermelon, strawberries, blackberries, cantaloupe...you name it, we probably grow it."

"Wow. That's amazing, Grandpa."

"You used to love to play in the garden while we dug up the vegetables. You'd get all dirty and it'd just make your mom crazy. She'd quit workin' and take you in to clean you up and she wouldn't let you back out again," Richard said, laughing at the memory.

"She's still like that. If I get the tiniest bit dirty she freaks out. I have to always look like the perfect little angel around her. It's annoying."

"Your mom is big on appearances, that's for sure. She never was one for the farm life. Not everybody likes what I do and that's fine by me."

"You and I are a lot alike. A lot alike."

"Well, I can't think of anybody else I'd rather be like."

"Me either," she said smiling at him.

As the Gator rounded back to the front of the house Richard stopped it for a moment and pointed beyond the hill and said, "Those black buildings over there are part of the Maker's Mark distillery. I'm a Knob Creek man myself, but Maker's is damn good too. Did you know that 95 of bourbon is made right here in Kentucky?"

"Really? I did not know that," Rory said smiling at her grandpa.

"Oh yes. Kentucky has 12 operating distilleries. The water in Kentucky has a lot of limestone in it and gives it a much smoother taste. Bourbon can be made other places in the U.S., but they usually can't add the state name to the label. Only Kentucky's supposed to be able to. Just a little lesson in bourbon history, from me to you," Richard said laughing.

"Thanks," Rory laughed. "That's really interesting though."

"Kentucky's an interesting place. A lot of people don't realize that though, but I just see it as their loss."

"And that's exactly how you should see it," Rory told him.

"It's nice to see you're on my side," Richard laughed and then pointing to the barn ahead of them said, "That's our tobacco barn. We raise a crop every year. And over there is our milk parlor. Not only do we drink the milk, but we also use it to make our own butter and cheese."

"You make your own butter and cheese!?" Rory asked shocked.

Richard laughed. "Yeah, we do. Always have. I don't like to eat overly processed foods and Emily's the same way. Since we make it, we know what goes in it and we can control it. We make most of our own food. I think we make it out to the grocery store about once a month."

"That's amazing. I usually just eat whatever the cook makes for me. A lot of times it's fancy food that I have no idea what it is, or if I even want to know."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that here," Richard said, patting her knee.

He continued to show Rory around the farm. She saw the hog houses and even willingly held a baby pig. She also pet a horse and a goat and held a baby chick. She was amazed at how much happened on the farm. There were wooded areas that her grandparents had specifically designated as hiking areas and one area even held a two bedroom cabin that they often retreated to. Aside from all the land and animals, Rory also got to see all the various types of machinery used to perform duties on the farm. But she could tell that her favorite part was going to be the lake that was used to swim in. Years ago her grandparents had built a dock for it, and someone had tied a few rope swings from the surrounding trees.

As they made their way back around to the building to park the Gator, Richard lead Rory back into the house and down into the basement. "We store a lot of our food down here. We keep our meats frozen in the deep freezes," Richard said as he lifted the lid and Rory saw mounds of white packages labeled with a black marker. "And these shelves are full of things that Emily has canned or made. There's all sorts of fruits, vegetables, preserves, jams, lots of things." Rory looked at the rows of rows of mason jars full of various types of foods. She was amazed. She had never seen this much food before in one place.

"What's behind that door?" Rory asked.

"That is where I store my beer and wine. I started makin' my own about 20 years ago. It's a big hit when we have people over," Richard said laughing. "But I should probably be gettin' back upstairs now and see what Emily needs done for tonight."

"Oh, can I help with anything?"

"No, not tonight. We're doin' this for you and you are not to help out. Just wander around the house or somethin' and let us take care of everything."

"Are you sure? It's no big deal. I really don't mind."

"I'm positive. You just get to know the place and we'll let you know when people start to arrive."

"Okay," Rory said and followed him back upstairs.

As Richard and Emily set about working on getting the food ready for later, Rory wandered around the house. She really loved it there. It was very homey. The kitchen was full of food and just standing in it you could practically taste all of the delicious meals that had been prepared daily. Just off from the kitchen was another bathroom and next to that was a room that held the washer and dryer. There was a door leading out to the screened in back porch. After watching her grandparents start the grill from her place on the porch she headed back inside to look around more.

The living room had a very large, stone fireplace and overstuffed furniture. There was a tv in one corner of the room with a rack of movies next to it. The couch had a homemade blanket folded over the back of it and there were two recliners that had blankets thrown over the backs that read, "His" and "Hers." On the table next to Richard's chair was a framed photo of him holding a newborn Rory with a big smile on his face. Rory couldn't help but smile when she saw it. She looked over next to Emily's chair and saw a basket full of yarn and knitting and crocheting needles. There were also a few crafts magazines on the table in the center of the room. Her grandmother apparently loved to make homemade crafts.

From the living room, she headed into what appeared to be an office. There was a computer, a filing cabinet, and a book shelf. She also discovered a small room with stacks and stacks of wood, a sewing room that had unfinished projects everywhere, a dining room, and a den. From there she found her grandparent's bedroom located at the bottom of the stairs. She made her way back up to her room and decided that before she was to meet people she should probably clean up a bit because the humidity of the early day had left her feeling a little dirty. Plus she was anxious to try out the clawfoot bathtub in her bathroom.

After Rory finished with her bath she put on a pair of denim shorts and a purple tank top and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. As she was heading back downstairs, she slipped on a pair of black flip flops, hoping she looked presentable enough to meet her grandparent's friends. Just as she hit the bottom stair, Emily was walking towards her.

"Rory! I was just about to call for you. The food is almost done and everybody will be here in just a few minutes. Did you enjoy your tour of the farm?"

"Yes, I did. It's amazing, Grandma. I can't believe all of the stuff that goes on here."

Emily laughed. "It's a lot of work, but we just love it all so much."

Just then Richard's voice bellowed through the house informing them of the arrival of Babette, Morey, Paris, and Dean.

Rory felt a little nervous all of a sudden. Emily noticed right away and reached out for her hand. "Don't worry, Sweetie. Everyone will just love you."

They headed out to the backyard and Rory saw a group of people standing around talking to her grandfather. However, as soon as the back door opened, they all turned to look at her. Babette was the first to rush over, dragging Morey along behind her. "Rory, darling, why I ain't seen you since you were knee-high to a grasshopper. How have you been? You look so great. You've really grown into a beauty. You must drive the boys pretty wild, huh?" She asked as she nudged her with her elbow and smiling.

"I guess."

"Oh, a shy one. Well, that'll just make 'em want you worse," Morey said, laughing.

Babette laughed as well and said, "Now I want you to meet my daughter. Paris! Get over here and meet Rory!"

Rory jumped at the shrillness of Babette's voice and heard Emily chuckle beside her. "She's a firecracker, huh?" Emily whispered in her ear. Rory nodded and smiled in return.

Paris walked up to her then and said, "Hi, I'm Paris. I'm so glad you're here because I finally get to spend time with a girl. Most of my friends from school are busy during the summer so I spend a lot of time with my boyfriend and Jess and I _need_ girl-time."

"Well, I'm glad I could save you then," Rory said smiling.

"I want you to meet my boyfriend, Dean," she said pulling Rory with her.

"Dean, this is Rory. Rory, this is Dean."

"Hi," Dean said, reaching out to shake her hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Rory told him with a smile. As she carried on a conversation with Paris and Dean about her life in Connecticut she couldn't help but notice how at first, they seemed like an unlikely pair. Paris was a short, bubbly girl with blonde hair and fair skin where Dean was tall, dark, and very laid back. They seemed to be total opposites, but at the same time, it really worked for them You would have to be blind not to notice the subtle glimpses and touches between the two.

As she was talking, telling about life at an all-girls boarding school, the crunch of gravel sounded in her ears. Turning towards the noise she saw a black, beat up Chevy truck pulling into the driveway.

"Great! Jess is here just as the food is ready." Rory heard Richard say.

The black truck slowed to a stop and Rory got her first glimpse of Jess as he climbed out from behind the driver's seat. He was of average height with dark hair, dark eyes, and gorgeous olive skin. Rory could only stare as Jess walked past her, nodding in her direction, and went over to her grandmother. She excused herself from Paris and Dean to move closer to hear what Jess was saying.

"Grandmama's sorry she couldn't make it, but she just wasn't feelin' too well."

"Well, that's too bad. I know she was wantin' to meet Rory. We'll just have her over when she's feelin' better and you be sure to take her a plate home, okay?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Jess replied with a smile.

Emily noticed Rory walking up to them and said, "Jess, I'd like you to meet Rory."

Jess turned and caught Rory's gaze. He noticed her when he pulled up. He'd be blind not to in her shorts and tank top. All that bare skin was too much and he wasn't sure of what to say so he had just nodded at her and went to tell Emily about his grandmother. "So you're the famous Rory I've heard so much about."

He found her blush endearing.

"Should I be worried about what you've heard?"

"Nah, it was all good. I don't think your grandparents could say anything bad about you if they tried. It's nice to meet you," he said, holding out his hand for her to take.

Rory thought his deep, southern drawl was adorable. He may not have been from Kentucky originally, but he'd definitely acquired an accent. She placed her hand in his and felt her knees weaken when he wrapped his hand tighter around hers. "It's nice to meet you too. I've also heard about you," she managed to get out.

"Now I'm wonderin' if I should be worried about what you heard," he laughed.

"No. No, it was good. I promise. Grandma and Grandpa just talked about what a hard worker you were and how you are, and I quote, 'a damn good boy.'"

It was Jess' turn to blush, which he tried to hide by ducking his head towards the ground. "Your grandparent's are great people. Great to know and even greater to work for. I really enjoy being around them," he mumbled.

"Everybody come and eat!" Richard shouted.

At the sound of his voice, Jess and Rory let each other's hands go and Jess motioned for Rory to walk ahead of him towards the food.

"You're in for a real treat tonight. Your grandpa makes the best damn barbeque chicken in the whole state of Kentucky," Jess smiled at her.

"Yeah, I realized at lunch earlier that southern food is definitely some of the best I've ever had."

"I haven't eaten much else, but I do know that I ain't ever eaten anything that tasted better than what your grandparents or Grandmama makes."

Rory still could not get over how cute Jess' southern accent was. And the fact that he referred to his grandmother as Grandmama was too cute for words.

"Alright everybody, we have barbeque chicken, burgers, potatoes, macaroni salad, potato salad, coleslaw, corn, and chips. There's some cokes and a jug of sweet tea in the refrigerator on the back porch. Eat up!" Richard said.

Jess handed Rory a plate and helped her balance it as she piled on a little bit of everything to try. As she was walking over to one of the picnic tables to set her plate down and get her drink, Jess came up behind her. "What do you want to drink?"

"Oh, I can get it."

"Hey, you're the guest of honor. Let me get it for you."

"Okay," Rory laughed. "I guess I'll have sweet tea."

"Great choice. I'll be back in a second."

As she was waiting for Jess to Return, Babette stopped in front of her. "Suga, you just met him and you already got him waitin' on you hand and foot. That's talent." She winked at Rory and continued on to the other table.

"You'll have to excuse Mama, she's a bit crazy sometimes," Paris said, sitting her plate down in front of Rory.

Just then Jess and Dean appeared sitting down the drinks for the girls and themselves. Dean sat next to Paris and Jess next to Rory. As they ate Rory and Jess couldn't stop laughing at Paris and Dean. One minute they were like lovesick puppies and the next they were arguing about any and everything. During one of Paris' rants about how Dean just did not appreciate the greatness of summer reading for pleasure, Rory turned towards Jess. "So you were totally right about Grandpa making the best barbeque chicken. I don't think I've ever tasted any better."

Jess smiled at her. "And this is only the first time you've had it. Trust me, it gets better every time."

"So what are your views on summer reading? Pleasureful or painful?" She asked him.

"Pleasureful. When I'm not in school, with friends, workin' on the farm or helpin' Grandmama do stuff around the house, I read."

"I read a lot too. Basically I go to school, study and read. I've been known to go out, but those occurrences are few and far between."

"I'm sorta the same. I'm not big into goin' out. Granted there ain't much to do around here, but it don't bother me too much."

Paris chose that moment to interrupt them by asking, "Rory, if you go to an all-girls school is it hard to find a boyfriend?"

Rory could feel Jess' eyes boring into her as she answered, "No. Not really. There's a guys school close by and when my friends and I go out there's always guys around. I don't really have much in common with them though. Plus, I keep myself pretty busy so I don't really have time to date right now."

"Jess is the same way," Dean spoke up. "He spends so much time with his schoolwork and working that when he gets free time he mostly just wanders off somewhere and reads. He drives girls crazy because he just keeps turnin' 'em down."

"Really?" Rory asked teasingly.

Jess looked a little embarrassed but responded with, "Well I'm sure you break a few hearts yourself there, darlin.'"

The darlin' went all through her and she wasn't sure how to respond, but luckily Emily saved her. "Who's ready for peach cobbler?"

"I know I am," Rory said, jumping up. "Let me help you."

"Oh, nonsense. You're supposed to be enjoyin' yourself. I'll get it."

"No, it's okay. I want to help."

As she followed Emily into the house, Dean smirked at Jess. "Way to run her off, buddy."

Jess responded with a swift kick to his shin, making Paris burst out laughing.

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"So I see you're gettin' along nicely with the other kids," Emily said.

"Yeah. There all really nice. I think we're going to have a lot of fun this summer."

"And I couldn't help but notice that you and Jess seem to be hittin' it off too," she said slyly.

Rory blushed. "He's really nice. He likes to read," she blurted.

"Jess is a great boy. Wendy, his grandmother, isn't in the best of health lately and he does so much for her. Whatever she need or wants, he takes care of. He's a great help around here too. He's also sharp as a tack. He's gotten straight A's his whole life. Plus any idiot can see he's a handsome devil."

Rory's blush intensified. "Yeah, yeah he is."

"You should just be glad Babette isn't yall's age or she'd put up one hell of a fight for him," Emily laughed and then sobered up a bit. "But I honestly don't think you have a thing to worry about. He hasn't been able to keep his eyes off you all night."

Rory couldn't stop thinking about what her grandmother had said as she carried out the plates of peach cobbler back to the picnic table.

"First all the great food, and now homemade peach cobbler with homemade ice cream? You sure know how to treat a guy," Jess said to Emily. "Not to mention the great company," he shifted his gaze to Rory as she sat a plate down in front of him.

"Well, Jess, Sweetie, it's my pleasure," Emily responded.

Not very long after desert was eaten Rory heard Babette break into song with Morey drumming on the table.

"Ah, nothin' like Richard's beer to bring out the inner singer in Mama," Paris laughed.

The singing continued on until the sun went down and the moon came out.

"Well, Rory, it was nice to meet you and I look forward to hangin' out with you more, but I should probably be gettin' Mama and Daddy back home soon before they sing anything else. Plus, Dean has to get home before too long," Paris said.

"Yeah, I have to work in the mornin'. And like Paris said, it was really nice to meet you and I also look forward to hangin' out more this summer," Dean said.

"It was great to meet you guys too. And whenever you want to do something, let me know."

After Paris, Dean, Babette, and Morey left, Jess helped Richard, Emily, and Rory clean up. "I should be gettin' home to check on Grandmama. It was nice to meet you Rory. I hope to hang out more soon. And thank you Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore for invitin' me. And thanks for the food for Grandmama. I know she'll love it."

"You're welcome, Jess. You know we love to have you around and not just when you're workin'. Maybe now that Rory's here you'll come around more often," Emily said.

"Yeah, maybe. I'll see you in the mornin' Mr. Gilmore."

"I'll walk you out," Rory said shyly.

She held the door open for him since his hands were full. She also opened the door to his truck for him. "It was nice meeting you too, Jess. And I hope to hang out more too."

Jess looked up after he buckled his seatbelt and smiled. "'Night, Rory."

"Goodnight, Jess."

She watched as he backed out of the driveway, waving to him again, and started back inside. Emily and Richard were sitting in their recliners watching the news. "Thanks for today, Grandma and Grandpa. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed meeting everyone. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the summer."

"We're glad, Sweetie," Richard said and Emily nodded.

"I think I'm going to go to bed. After the flight, the tour of the farm, and eating as much as I did, I'm exhausted," Rory laughed.

"Yeah, you did have quite the day. You go on to bed and let us know if you need anything. I put an extra blanket in your room just in case. It can get pretty chilly at night."

"Goodnight Grandma and Grandpa," Rory said as she hugged them both.

"Goodnight, Rory. I probably won't see you until lunch tomorrow," Richard said.

"And I'll be here whenever you wake up. Is there anything in particular you want for breakfast?" Emily asked.

"Oh no. Anything is fine with me."

"Alright then. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

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As Rory was changing into her pajamas and settling into bed, she thought back to her day. At first she wasn't sure her grandparents would like her, but they made her feel so welcome. Babette and Morey were really nice too. And she knew she would get along great with Paris and Dean seemed really nice too. She was most intrigued by Jess. She wasn't too sure what would happen between the two of them, but she certainly had her grandmother's stamp of approval. She couldn't help it though. He was the most amazing guy she'd ever met. He was smart, loved to read, eager to help out anyone, and he obviously cared a great deal about his grandmother. Plus, he was absolutely gorgeous and had a voice to die for. If today was any indication she couldn't wait for what the rest of the summer would bring.

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A/N: Thanks for reading and please review when finished.


	3. Chapter 3

Author: PGGF

Disclaimer: I don't anything except the idea.

Summary: Extremely AU. Rory lives in Hartford, Connecticut with her mother and step-father. Rory's never met her biological father so she refers to Chris as her dad. Chris and Lorelai are very wealthy and kind of stuck up. They've never really shown Rory much affection and keep her shipped off to boarding schools and ritzy summer camps so they don't have to deal with her. Richard and Emily live in Loretto, Kentucky on a farm. Lorelai basically cut them out of her life when she got married and they haven't actually seen Rory since she was very young. They still talk occasionally on the phone, but that's about it. Jess lives with his grandmother and works on Richard and Emily's farm. The backgrounds will be further explained throughout the story. Also, some of the other characters will be featured, but as this is an AU they'll be Kentucky as well. The story is mainly going to focus on Jess and Rory and I'm planning on it being fairly fluffy.

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! I really appreciate it. A few people reviewed/messaged me about Jess being "too different," so I'd just like to remind everyone that this is an AU story...of course he's going to be different. He was raised by very loving and caring people which made him have similiar qualities. And I'm glad that so many people got a kick out of Paris and Dean dating. I wanted Paris to have a boyfriend, but I'm completely unoriginal so I just went with Dean and it's nice to know that other people can see that relationship too. Again, thank you so much for reviewing and I hope you'll do so after you read this chapter as well. Enjoy!

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Rory woke up feeling more refreshed than ever the next morning. It was still fairly early and a slight breeze was blowing in from the windows. She was so comfortable she didn't want to get out of bed, but the unmistakeable aroma of breakfast wafted up the stairs and into her room helped to change her mind. After a quick shower, she threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top and heading down to the kitchen.

"Goodmorning, Grandma."

"Mornin', Rory. Did you sleep okay?"

"I slept great. That bed is amazing. And the late night breeze is great when you're trying to go to sleep."

"Good. It costs an arm and a leg to air condition this ole house so we like to just keep the windows open. Anyway, I made you banana nut pancakes and bacon for breakfast. And what do you want to drink? We have milk, apple juice, freeze squeezed orange juice, lots of choices."

"Milk is fine. And the food smells incredible. I haven't been here a full 24 hours yet and I'm already so spoiled," Rory said as she sat at the table.

"Well, it's my pleasure to do it. I spoil everyone. Nothin' makes me happier than somebody with a full belly and a smilin' face so you just eat up," Emily laughed.

"Believe me, it's my pleasure to do so."

As Rory ate her breakfast Emily was rushing around the kitchen washing dishes and putting them away. Just as Rory was finishing up she heard Emily exclaim, "Well I'll be damned. It's already 10:00. I told Babette I'd be by this mornin' 'bout this time for her to trim up my hair." She quickly wiped her hands on her apron, pulling it off from around her waist. "I'd better be goin' if I want lunch to be ready on time. Would you mind doin' me a favor, Sweetie?" She asked Rory.

"No, not all. What do you need me to do?" Rory asked as she was washing her dishes.

"Richard and Jess have been workin' out in this heat since 'bout 4:00 this mornin' and I was wonderin' if you could take them some sandwiches and a jug of water? There probably workin' in one of the fields so you can just take it down to barn next to the hay field. There's a refrigerator in there and they know to check it 'bout this time."

"Yeah, I can do that. That's no problem."

"Great. Great. I'll just whip 'em up some sandwiches right quick and be outta here."

"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can make the sandwiches."

"You really are a sweet girl," Emily said hugging Rory briefly. "Just use the leftover bacon on the stove and there's already some tomato slices in the refrigerater along with a head of lettuce in the drawer. Just put a little bit of Miracle Whip on 'em too, if you don't mind. And there's sandwich baggies in the drawer on the end over there and some paper bags in the cabinent underneath it. Make four and wrap 'em up and put 'em in the bag. There's already a jug of water in the refrigerator too." As soon as Emily was finished explaining about the sandwiches and pointing out where things were located, she grabbed her keys and started towards the door. "I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm just goin' to the bottom of the driveway. And if you don't feel like walkin' in this heat you can take the Gator. It's real easy to drive and the keys are already in it."

"Okay. And if you don't mind and if she isn't busy, could Paris come over? I'd really like to get know her better."

"Oh, that's fine with me. I tell you what. If she ain't busy I'll bring her back up with me, ok?"

"Thanks."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

After Emily left, Rory set about assembling the sandwiches and placing them, first in the sandwich baggies, and then in the larger paper bag. When she was finished she grabbed the paper bag and the jug of water. On the way out the door, she stopped and shoved her feet in her shoes, and headed out to the Gator. She placed the paper bag and the jug of water in the back and climbed in. As she started the engine she rubbed the steering wheel and said, "If you promise to treat me right I'll return the favor. No funny business, and I mean it."

The engine started right up and she easily maneuvered into drive. She tested out the gas pedal by barely pressing down and when the Gator rolled forward slightly she gained more confidence and pressed down a little harder. As she passed the tobacco barn and turned onto the well beaten path, she wondered if she would have the chance to see Jess working on the farm. She couldn't help it. He had been on her mind since she met him. He had the typical southern boy drawl, but he did not seem like the stereotypical country boy. She completely bought the fact that he was a hard worker and did well in school, but she sensed a little more to him than that.

Before she knew it, she had reached the barn. She parked the Gator, grabbed the bag and the water, and climbed out. The barn door was already opened so she headed right in. As she looked around she saw bales and bales of hay in the loft and a few in the corner of the floor. There were a few pitchforks and shovels in another corner, but there wasn't much else. Judging from the mostly empty barn she guessed it usually housed one of the many tractors used to run the farm. As she walked over to the refrigerator and opened it to place everything inside, she noticed slight movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head slightly her breath caught in her throat at the sight. Jess was walking towards the barn and as he got a little closer he pulled his shirt off and slung it over one shoulder. Rory couldn't stop staring. Working on a farm for years had certainly paid off. Jess was skinny, but he was very muscular. She had noticed his defined forearms last night, but now she could see the whole length of them. It was obvious that he usually worked in a t-shirt because he had what is commonly referred to as a "farmer's tan." The tops of his arms, shoulders, chest and stomach were a couple of shades lighter than his face, neck, and forearms. She hadn't realized she was still staring until Jess was right in front of her and said, "See somethin' ya like, Darlin'?"

Shocked Rory answered, "No...I mean yes...I mean I brought food. And water. I brought sandwiches and water."

Jess smirked. "Yeah, I knew it was 'bout time for food and water to magically appear in this refrigerator."

"Magically?"

"Yeah. We'll be out workin' on the farm for a couple of hours and come in here and there's always somethin' to eat and drink before lunch."

"So is it just you and Grandpa working right now?" Rory was trying to get herself to focus on something else other than his bare chest.

"Right now it is. There's a couple of other guys who help out on the farm, but durin' the summer they offer up some of their hours for me to take and they just come after lunch. It's good. It gives me a chance to make a little more money and there's less of a chance of us gettin' distracted if it's only me and your grandpa."

"Where is Grandpa?"

"He'll be here any minute. He was just finishin' up. I was too hungry to keep workin' and came to see what I had to eat," he laughed.

"Boys and their appetites," Rory teased, shaking her head.

"Hey! I'm only 17. I'm still a growin' boy and I need to eat."

"Well I made sandwiches so I hope they suffice."

"You made us sandwiches?" Jess quirked his eyebrow at her. "I thought the summer was for you to relax. How are you going to relax slaving in the kitchen making sandwiches for some ole farmboys?" He teased.

"Haha. Grandma did most of the work. She had already cooked the bacon and sliced the tomatoes. I just put it on bread, added the lettuce and Miracle whip, and wrapped them up."

"Well, I thank you for it," he said in his deep drawl.

"I should probably be getting back now. Grandma should be back soon and she's supposed to be bringing Paris with her. Could you tell Grandpa I'm sorry I missed him and I'll see him for lunch?"

"I sure will. I'll be seein' you for lunch too."

"I'm looking forward to it," she said with a smile. As she turned to walk back out to the Gator she could feel his eyes on her. She couldn't resist. "See something _you_ like?" she turned back to face him.

Jess tried to smirk in reponse, but he could feel the blush creeping onto his face. He gave a little wave, "See ya in a little bit." He kept watching Rory out of the corner of his eye as she got back into the Gator and drove off back towards the house. He couldn't help but wonder what the rest of the summer would bring between the two of them. He had known the moment he first saw her that she was different, and not just because she was a "city girl." She liked to tease people, but would do so subtly and she loved to read as much as he did. Nothing was more of a turn on to him than intelligence and he could tell she was extremely smart. Not to mention he had heard Richard and Emily mentioning several times before that the world was going to be hers for the taking someday. He had heard the stories of her success at whatever school she went to and how she had been placed in the advanced learning classes since she was in elementary school. Richard's voice broke through his thoughts. "What do we have to eat today?"

"BLTs. Rory just dropped 'em off. She said to tell you she's sorry she missed you, but she'll see you at lunch," Jess said, handing him his two sandwiches.

"Oh. I wished I would have seen her. She's such a joy to have around. We've tried for years to get here out here and now that she's finally here we want to make sure she enjoys it enough to come back more often."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that. She seems to be enjoyin' herself and she loves you and Mrs. Gilmore."

Richard smiled. "Thanks. I was wonderin' if you could do me a favor? When I was showin' Rory around the farm she mentioned how she always wanted to ride a horse, but never got the chance. Now I'm in good health for my age, but I'm no spring chicken. I can't just jump up on one and ride it like I used to so I was wantin' to know if you could teach her?"

"Sure. I wouldn't mind at all." 'Anything to have a chance to get to spend more time with her', he thought.

"I really appreciate it. I figured you were the person to ask. After all, you were the only one who could get Paris near one," Richard laughed.

"Yeah. It took me almost an entire summer, but I finally got through to her that the horse wouldn't buck her off as soon as she got on."

"You're a good boy, Jess. Of course she was goin' to trust you."

"Thank you, Mr. Gilmore." He always felt a huge sense of pride when Richard praised him. He may seem like a giant teddy bear, but Jess knew better. Richard was an extremely nice and down to earth guy, but he had high standards in life. And Jess loved to make him proud. When Richard praised someone they really and truly deserved it.

"You're welcome. Well, I guess we better be gettin' back to work if we're goin' to be stoppin' for lunch soon."

"Yes, Sir."

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After Rory parked the Gator back next to the building, she headed back inside and up to her room. She was making her bed when she noticed her grandma's car coming up the driveway. She finished up quickly and ran back downstairs just as Emily and Paris were walking through the door.

"Hi, Rory."

"Hi, Paris. I'm glad you could make it."

"Well, I should be gettin' back to the kitchen to fix lunch. You girls go on and have fun and I'll call for you when it's ready."

"Okay. Thanks, Grandma."

"Yeah, thanks, Emily."

Rory lead Paris up to her room.

"So how do you like spendin' your summer on a farm so far?" Paris asked.

"It's nice. I really love the peacefulness of it here. And spending time with my grandparents has been great. I've had such a great time and I've only been here a day."

"Yeah, it is nice here. I know there are some people from the country who can't wait to move away, but it's just so nice here that I don't ever want to leave."

"My mom was that way. She hated living here and as soon as she graduated she packed us both up and we ended up in Hartford."

"I couldn't imagine livin' in a bigger city. I love it here. Dean's the same way. We're just borin' ole country bumpkins," Paris laughed.

Rory laughed along with her. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you and Dean get together?"

"I had just started kindergarten and I was a little afraid of meetin' new people so I kinda kept to myself. Dean got switched to my class durin' the second week of school. Later that day our class was out playin' on the playground and I was by myself on the swings when he came over and started swingin' next to me. He wanted to know why I wasn't playin' with the other kids and I told him I was scared to so he said I didn't have to be scared and that he would play with me."

"Aw. That's so cute."

"Yeah. He stuck by my side that whole day. The next day when we were on the playground I shoved him down and kissed him. Then I told him that he was my boyfriend and we were goin' to be together forever." Paris said, laughing at the memory.

"Wow. You were braver at 5 years old than I am at 17. I'd never have the courage to just kiss a guy that I liked."

"Considerin' who my mama is, it's no wonder I didn't kiss him the first day on the swings."

Rory laughed. "My mom is pretty impulsive too, but I'm definitely not. I have trouble letting guys know how I feel. Especially guys I really, really like."

"So you want me to tell Jess you like him then?" Paris asked teasingly.

"WHAT!?" Rory shrieked.

"Oh, don't play dumb. You like him. Any idiot can see it. I can't say I blame you. I love Dean to pieces, but I can see that Jess is a great guy and he's _so_ cute."

Rory could feel her face flaming. "Yeah. Yeah, he is cute." At Paris' look she admitted, "Okay, fine. He's unbelievably gorgeous."

Paris chuckled. "I _knew_ it. I could tell from the moment I first met you that you and him would hit it off. Man, I am right about _everything_. Yet another thing I have to thank Mama for."

"Am I that obvious?" Rory hoped she didn't seem like a lovesick puppy around him.

"Well, I noticed it. And Mama noticed it. Dean mentioned something about you both liking each other. Daddy was too drunk to know one way or the other."

"Both of us liking each other?" Rory asked.

"Like you didn't notice him lookin' at you all night. Or hangin' on to every word you said."

"I noticed. I just didn't want to get my hopes up," Rory shyly admitted.

"I think you have the right to get your hopes up. Jess really liked you. I've known him for long enough to know when he truly likes someone and when he's just bein' polite."

"How long have you known him?"

"We actually meet when we were about 2 years old, right after Jess moved here. We didn't actually take an interest in each other until the first grade. Him and Dean were in the same class and after that he was always around me and Dean."

"Wow. I can't imagine having friends for that long. My parents change my schools every couple of years and I never really bother to keep in touch with anyone."

"Around here there's about 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 1 high school. Most of my friends I met in elementary school. I remember when we started high school all the girls from the other middle school were beatin' themselves to death tryin' to get to Jess."

"So a lot of girls are interested in him?"

Paris realized she may have given Rory the wrong idea. "He has a lot of girls who show an interest, but it's not often that he shows one back. I mean he's dated here and there, but he mostly keeps to himself."

"Has he ever had a steady girlfriend?"

"He dated one girl for about 6 months our sophomore year of high school. The ended up just bein' friends. Just decided one day to be break up and be friends and it's worked for them ever since. What about you? Ever had a steady boyfriend?"

"Sort of the same. I dated a guy for a couple of months last year, but we decided we were better off as friends. I set him up with a girl I knew from school and they seem to be doing really well. We still talk every now and then, but that's about it."

"Me and Dean are guilty of tryin' to fix Jess up sometimes. It always blows up in our faces. Either he's just not into her at all or he likes her okay but can't see himself with her. I don't mean to say he's lookin' for the be all and end all relationship, but Jess won't date someone he can't see himself havin' some kind of future with."

"That's nice. It's so much better than all those guys who spend so much time just trying to hook up."

"Yeah, that's definitely not Jess' taste."

"Good."

"Girls, lunch is ready!" Emily's voice rose up the stairs.

When Paris and Rory walked into the kitchen Jess and Richard were just coming in. "Rory! There you are. Did you sleep okay last night?" Richard asked, coming over to give her a hug.

"I slept great, Grandpa. That bed is amazing."

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoyin' it."

"Okay everybody, we have spaghetti and salad for lunch so dig in," Emily said.

Paris had chose the single chair at the back of the table leaving the side with two chairs open for Rory and Jess. Rory sent her a smile smile of appreciation as she sat down next to Jess. They both gasped slightly at the feeling of being so close to one another. Rory's hands were shaking as she took the bowl of salad Jess passed to her. She thankfully managed to put some on her plate and pass the bowl to Richard without dropping it. Jess seemed to sense her shakiness and took the liberaty of scooping some spaghetti out onto her plate before passing it on to Richard.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"No problem," he whispered back.

They ate in a comfortable silence until Rory said, "Grandma, this spaghetti sauce is really good."

"Thank you, Sweetie. I made it myself. It took me years to get it the way I like it, but I think all that work paid off."

"I'll say," Richard said. "I ate spaghetti at least once a week durin' those years. I never knew what to expect. Sometimes it was spicier and sometimes it was sweeter. It's nice to have some stability with the sauce," he laughed.

Everyone laughed along with him.

After everyone had finished eating Richard and Jess went back out to work on the farm and Rory and Paris helped Emily clean up the dishes before heading outside to the porch swing. The continued to swing and talk until about 3:00 in the afternoon.

"I should be gettin' back home now. I promised Mama I'd be home to help in the beauty shop before she closed," Paris said.

"Okay. Do you want to hang out again tomorrow?" Rory asked.

"Sure. I'd like that."

"Do you want me to drive you back home? I've mastered the fine art of Gator driving," Rory chuckled.

"No, that's okay," Paris laughed. "After eatin' all I ate I feel like walkin'."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," Rory told her.

"Bye." Paris started walking towards the driveway. She stopped just as Rory was getting ready to go back inside. "Hey, Rory. What are you doin' tonight?"

"Nothing that I know of."

"I'll be back to pick you up about 6:00. I'm goin' to take you somewhere."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise. Just wear what you've got on. You might want to pull your hair back and wear some tennis shoes, though."

"And you're not going to tell me what for?" Rory asked.

"Nope. Just be ready at 6:00. You'll like it. I promise."

"I'll see you at 6:00 then," Rory said.

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Before Rory knew it, it was 5:50 and Paris was pulling into the driveway. "Grandma, Paris is here."

"Okay, Sweetie. Have fun. Do you know what time you'll be back?"

"No. I don't even know where I'm going," Rory laughed.

"That's fine. We'll leave the side door unlocked for you and tomorrow we'll get you a key."

"Thanks, Grandma. If I'm too late to tell him, will you tell Grandpa goodnight for me?"

"Sure," she said giving Rory a hug.

"And if I don't get a chance to tell you later, I'll say it now, Goodnight, Grandma."

"Goodnight, Rory," Emily said as Rory was heading out the door.

Rory walked over to the red jeep Paris was driving and got in the passenger side. "You won't even give me a hint of where we're going?"

"Nope. But trust me, you'll love it," Paris said as she waved to Emily and backed out of the driveway.

After driving for about 5 minutes, Paris turned onto a road and pulled up to a park and stopped the car.

"The surprise location was a park?" Rory asked, confused.

"Not just a park," Paris said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "There's also a baseball field."

"Baseball?"

"Just wait until you see who's playin'," Paris said.

They got out of the jeep and started in the direction of the baseball field. As they grew closer Rory noticed that the players on the field were all little kids.

"Paris, are we watching little kids play baseball?" Rory asked. She was really confused.

Paris laughed. "Yes and no. It's little kids playin' right now, but the coaches are our age."

As soon as she said that Rory noticed Jess and Dean explaining something to a couple of kids.

Rory broke into a grin. "He coaches little kids in baseball?"

Paris grinned in return. "Yes. Jess and Dean coach The Giants. Ages 7-10. I knew you'd like it."

"Thanks for bringing here."

"No problem." Paris waved to the guys and Jess' eyes almost bugged out of his head when he saw Rory with her.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey." He was surprised he could speak at all. He hadn't expected her to be there.

"Hi, Rory. It's nice to see you again."

"Hi, Dean. It's nice to see you too."

"I hope you boys don't mind us droppin' in to check on you," Paris said.

"No. No it's fine," Jess said a little to quickly.

"Yeah, it's fine," Dean agreed, chuckling at Jess.

"Okay then. We'll just go sit on the bleachers," Paris said pulling Rory with her.

As they watched Dean and Jess with the kids, Rory could feel herself falling deeper. He seemed to care about each and every kid and really concentrated on one kid at a time. That was one thing she'd picked up about him, when you had his attention he focused entirely on you. It was as if nothing else existed.

Before long, darkness was settling in and the kid's parents had arrived to take them home. "Hey, Paris and Rory! Get over here," Dean shouted.

"Bleh, I was afraid of this," Paris said.

"What?' Rory asked.

"He's goin' to make me play. And I'm guessin' you'll have to too."

They walked over to the guys and Dean said, "Let's play."

"I suck at any and all sports," Rory said.

"Paris does too," Jess said causing Dean to laugh and Paris to elbow Dean in the stomach.

"Oh! I'm sorry, baby. Did that hurt?" Paris asked in a sickeningly sweet voice at the sound of Dean's groan of pain.

"Guess I deserved that," Dean mumbled.

"And don't you forget it. Now, let's make a lame attempt at at playin' so we can get outta here."

Rory laughed. "I'm not even sure if I could hit the ball."

"Have you ever played?" Jess asked.

"Not really. I avoided P.E. as much as possible. We mostly just played volleyball and tennis."

"Alright. I'll show you then. Dean, you're pitchin' for Rory. Paris, you got outfield."

Dean headed out to the pitcher's mound, still clutching his stomach. Paris walked out to the outfield mumbling about how she hated sports. Jess grabbed a bat and handed it to Rory. "Okay, I know this is a scene right out of some cheesy movie, but I have to stand behind you and show you how to swing this."

Rory sighed dramatically. "The things I do for athletes."

Jess smirked and moved closer to her. "All right, now what you wanna do is grip the bat right 'bout here," he said moving her hands to the correct position. "Now bring your elbows up a little. Yeah, like that." He wrapped his arms around her and placed his hands over hers and helped her get the feel of swinging the bat. "Okay, Dean. Throw us a practice one."

Dean threw the ball towards Rory and as it got a little closer Jess helped her swing the bat to hit it. "Not bad," he said. "Not bad at all. Now you do one without me helpin'." He threw the ball back to Dean, who easily caught it and threw it back. Rory tightened her grip on the bat and hit the ball as hard as she could. It sailed over Dean's head and dropped into the field near Paris, who trodded over to the direction she saw it last.

"Are you sure you haven't done this before?" Jess asked.

"Positive. I'm not a sports person."

"I'm not really one either. I just like baseball."

They switched places with Jess pitching, Rory in the outfield, and Dean and Paris batting. After switching back again, Dean mentioned that he had to be getting home. Paris agreed and shooting a look to Rory said, "Hey Jess, I'm going to give Dean a ride home. Can you take Rory?"

"Sure."

They said their goodbyes and Paris and Dean headed in the direction of Paris' jeep, leaving Rory and Jess behind. "Do you mind if we stay here for awhile? It's a really nice night out and we don't get too many nights like this in Hartford," Rory said.

"We'll stay as long as you want," Jess said.

They walked over to the park area and sat on top of a picnic table.

"So, Jess, tell me about yourself. I know you aren't from here originally so how did you come to live here?"

"When I was 2 my parents decided they were more into gettin' drunk and havin' fun than raisin' a baby. One day they just packed up my stuff and brought me here to live with Grandmama and Granddaddy and I ain't heard from 'em since." After his omission, Jess leaned back until he was laying on the table looking up at the sky. Rory waited a moment and stretched out beside him.

"That must have been tough growing up. Wondering about your parents and everything." Rory hoped she wasn't offending him, but she was curious about his background.

"Yeah, it was. For awhile I wondered why they didn't want anything to do with me. I used to tell myself if I was good and made good grades in school they would come back for me and we'd be a family again. But when I was about 10 or 11 I came around. I realized they might not have wanted me, but my grandparents did. After that I stopped hopin' my parents would come back and started focusin' more on my life with Grandmama and Granddaddy. They treated me better than my parents ever did and it would've been stupid to give that up. They took good care of me and always made sure I had whatever I wanted. And after Granddaddy died, that's what I wanted to do for Grandmama. I help her out in any way I can. She made sure I was well taken care of when I was growin' up so I want to make sure she's well taken care of now."

"That's really sweet, Jess. And your grandmother sounds like a wonderful person. I'd like to meet her sometime."

"She'd like that. So tell me 'bout you. What's your story?"

"Well, I'm sure you've heard that I was born here. And that I spent the first two years of my life here on the farm with my mom, Grandma and Grandpa. All I know about my biological father is that he didn't want me. He apparently freaked when my mom told him she was pregnant and he left town. She was so scared of finding herself married to a farmer with an army of kids that as soon as she graduated she moved us to the city. I know it upset Grandma and Grandpa when we left, but they knew that Mom wasn't happy here and that she should go. I just wish she would have kept in contact with them more. Anyway, she met and married Chris, and he became my dad. I completely respect the fact that he stepped up to be a dad to me, but sometimes I feel like he wishes he had a kid of his own. I know that he cares about me, but he has difficulty showing it. The same with my mom. They once forgot I was coming home and I had to sit at the airport until the maid came to pick me up. But they get busy sometimes. My dad is a laywer so he's constantly working. My mom organizes all of the events his firm throws and she's on a few of the boards in Hartford. She's real big into appearances and always makes sure I look my best at all times."

"Sounds like it can be rough."

"Yeah. It can be annoying sometimes, but I've gotten used to it. And I keep telling myself that it's only for another year and then I'm off to college and only have look presentable at holiday parties," she joked, making Jess chuckle aside of her.

After a few moments of silence, Jess raised up on his elbow and looked down at her. "So if you go to an all girl boardin' school do you have to wear a uniform?" he asked with a teasing glint in his eye.

Rory groaned and covered her face. "Yes," she mumbled from behind her hands.

Jess cracked up next to her. "_That_, I'd pay to see."

"Yes, yes. Make fun of the poor girl who has to freeze in the winter because her school forbids pants," she continued to talk through her hands.

Jess chuckled and reached over to jokingly pat her on the head. "I wasn't makin' fun of you. Nobody likes to laugh at a human popsicle in a plaid skirt."

Rory slowly lifted her hands away from her face and her retort got lost in her throat when she realized just how close he was. His eyes flickered over hers for a moment before traveling down to her lips and then back again. She subconciously licked hers enjoying the very faint groan Jess let out. Suddenly he sat up completely and said, "So other than avoidin' sports and freezin' durin' the winter, what else do you do at school?"

Rory took a moment to calm her breathing before sitting up next to him and answering, "Not much. I study and read a lot. I want to be a writer. I'd love to write children's books. What about you?"

Jess shrugged. "I've always wanted to farm. I get good grades in school and I've gotten a few offers to a couple of colleges, but I'm not too interested. I like goin' to school and I like learnin' new things, but I'm most comfortable on a farm. Ever since I started workin' on your grandpa's farm when I was a little boy, I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I want to run my own farm."

"After seeing what life on a farm can be like, I wouldn't mind living on one. It's nice and peaceful and the homegrown food is definitely better than anything you can buy in a regular grocery store. I think it's just the type of place I could write at home from."

Jess smiled at her. "Hey, your grandpa said somethin' 'bout you wantin' to learn how to ride a horse and asked if I could teach you. I was thinkin' that maybe you might want to start tomorrow after I'm finished workin'."

"That would be great. And thanks for wanting to teach me. I really appreciate it."

"I'm lookin' forward to it. I finally got Paris convinced to give it a try and I'm bettin' you won't be no worse than her," he joked.

"No. I promise I'll be good and willing to learn. I've always wanted to learn, but my mom never seemed like she liked the idea much. She's not a big animal person," she paused, "But we should probably be getting back. It's kind of late and if you have to get up early to work and start teaching me tomorrow night, you probably want some sleep."

"Yeah, I probably should be gettin' back. I have to help milk in the mornin' so I'll be up bright and early." He jumped down off the table and held his hand out for Rory to take and helped her down as well. Instead of letting go of her hand he just wrapped his around it and led the way to his truck. He let her hand go to open the truck door for her and help her in. As he climbed in he said, "Sorry for the mess. Nobody usually rides in here but me."

"It's fine," Rory said. She wasn't even sure what he meant about a mess. There were a couple of cd cases on the seats and in the floor and a few empty water bottles in the drink holders but that was it.

The short drive home was quiet, but it was a comfortable kind of quiet. As Jess pulled into the driveway Rory spoke. "I can't get over how pretty it is when it's dark here. You can actually see the stars."

"Night time is my favorite 'round here. You can see all the stars, the lightnin' bugs come out, and the crickets start chirpin'. It's really nice."

As Jess came to a stop in the driveway, Rory turned to him. "I had a lot of fun tonight. Thanks for teaching me how to bat."

"It's not a problem. We practice a few nights a week if you want to come by again. And on Saturdays there's usually a pick-up game with the other coaches and some other kids from 'round here. It's a lot of fun. You can play too if you want."

"Sure. I'd like that. I might need a few more lessons before I make my baseball game debut though."

Jess smirked. "I'll add it to the list. Horseback ridin' and baseball." He got out of the truck and came around to her side to open the door. He offered his hand again to help her out.

"I look forward to both," Rory said smiling. "Well, goodnight Jess."

"'Night, Rory. I'll see you tomorrow."

Rory squeezed his hand and walked towards the door, pausing to wave at Jess before heading inside. Jess waited until she was completely inside before backing down the driveway. Rory watched him go from the window, smiling to herself. She turned away from the window and walked further into the house. Her grandparents had already went to bed and left a light on in the living room for her. She turned it off and headed towards her room, the light from the moon guiding her steps. As she was getting ready for bed she was having problems trying to contain her excitement over Jess teaching her to play baseball and how to ride a horse. She couldn't wait for tomorrow.

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AN: Just for fun I've included a couple of pictures that go along with this story in my profile. They're of Rory's grandparent's house, a couple of the farm, the Gator, and how I picture Jess in this story. Also, I have a question I was hoping you could answer in your reviews. As I'm outlining future chapters and getting more of an idea of what's going to happen, I'm thinking of upping the rating. I was wondering if everyone would be okay with that?

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

Author: PGGF

Disclaimer: I don't anything except the idea.

Summary: Extremely AU. Rory lives in Hartford, Connecticut with her mother and step-father. Rory's never met her biological father so she refers to Chris as her dad. Chris and Lorelai are very wealthy and kind of stuck up. They've never really shown Rory much affection and keep her shipped off to boarding schools and ritzy summer camps so they don't have to deal with her. Richard and Emily live in Loretto, Kentucky on a farm. Lorelai basically cut them out of her life when she got married and they haven't actually seen Rory since she was very young. They still talk occasionally on the phone, but that's about it. Jess lives with his grandmother and works on Richard and Emily's farm. The backgrounds will be further explained throughout the story. Also, some of the other characters will be featured, but as this is an AU they'll be Kentucky as well. The story is mainly going to focus on Jess and Rory and I'm planning on it being fairly fluffy.

AN: Thanks so much for all the reviews everyone! I'm so happy that you are enjoying this story. For those that were wondering the pictures I included are in fact of Kentucky. They are actually of the house I lived in and the farm it was on. And a huge thank you to everyone who gave their opinion on the rating change. The rating won't actually be going up for awhile longer, but I just wanted to make sure people were okay with it. And a huge, huge thank you to dazedandconfuddled. Because of your PM I realized that this chapter uploaded but didn't post. So my apologies to everyone. This was supposed to be up days ago.

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The smell of cinnamon rolls woke Rory up the next morning. After a quick shower and getting dressed, she headed down to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Grandma."

"Mornin', Rory. I figured you'd be up soon. My cinnamon rolls wake everybody up," Emily laughed.

"I can see why. They smell amazing," she said as she poured herself a glass of milk.

"Well help yourself, Honey. There's some on the table and a few more bakin' in the oven."

Rory gladly dug in, practically moaning at the sweet taste of them.

"Grandma these are the best cinnamon rolls I've ever tasted. I wish I could cook like you."

"Thank you, Sweetie. They're pretty easy to make. I'd love to teach you sometime."

"I'd definitely love to learn," Rory smiled.

Emily smiled in return and walked over to place more cinnamon rolls on the table. "So did you and Paris have fun last night?"

Rory's thoughts immediately flew to Jess and she couldn't help the grin that spread over her face. "Yes. We had a lot of fun. We went to the park to watch Jess and Dean coach their baseball team. After the kids left the boys made us play and I'm happy to say that I'm not as bad as I thought I would be," Rory chuckled.

Emily laughed a long with her. "I'm sure you're just fine. And if you wanted to learn more I bet Jess would just love to teach you."

Rory blushed at her Grandma's knowing look. "Yeah, he mentioned that he'd teach me more if I wanted him to. He's already teaching me how to ride a horse."

"Richard mentioned that he was goin' to ask him. I'm glad he agreed to do it."

"Me too. He's really nice. I like spending time with him."

"He likes it too. I don't know if you've noticed or not, but he's a little sweet on you."

Rory almost choked on her breakfast. "Um, what?"

"You heard me. He's sweeter on you than an army of ants on a sugar hill."

"H-How can you tell," Rory shyly asked while staring at her plate like it was the most interesting object around.

"It's all in his eyes. Jess shows every one of his emotions in his eyes. Wendy's the same way and Jess is _a lot_ like her."

Rory had no idea how to follow that up. She wanted to tell her grandma about the almost kiss and the handholding, but she was worried about how she would take it. Her grandparents really loved Jess and she didn't want to upset them by starting something with Jess when she was only going to be here for the summer. Luckily, the phone rang before Rory could answer.

Emily seemed to know just what was going through Rory's mind and patted her hand as she stood to answer the phone. "Mornin'...Sure, sure. Here she is," Emily held the phone out towards Rory. "It's Paris."

Rory took the phone from her. "Hello?"

"Mornin', Rory. I was wonderin' what you were doin' today."

"Nothing until later tonight."

"Well, I need to go into town to buy some summer clothes and wanted to know if you want to come with me? We'll just be goin' to Lebanon. Cato's is havin' a sale. They have great sales. We're talkin' like .99 cents for a tank top and $5.00 for shorts. You in?"

"Yeah, that sounds great. Let me just ask Grandma," she pulled the phone away from her mouth. "Grandma is it okay if I go shopping with Paris?"

"Sure. You girls have fun."

"Okay. I'm in."

"Great. I'll come pick you up in a minute."

"I'll be waiting."

"Bye."

"Bye," Rory hung up the phone and went upstairs to get the credit card her parents sent with her. Just as she was slipping her flip flops on Paris pulled into the driveway. "Grandma, Paris is here."

"Okay. I'll walk out with you."

As they were walking over to Paris' jeep, Paris waved and said, "Mornin' Emily. We're just goin' to Cato's so we shouldn't be too long."

"Well you girls have fun. Paris, you want to have lunch with us again? I'm makin' fried chicken and mashed potatoes."

"Of course! Like I'd ever pass up your food, Emily."

"Speakin' of my food, I made some cinnamon rolls this mornin' and I got a few left you want 'em."

"You know you don't even have to ask," Paris laughed.

"Alright. Let me just run back in and get 'em for you."

As Emily was walking back into the house, Rory got in the jeep. "Thanks for inviting me. I brought some summer clothes here with me, but I could use a few more."

"No problem," Paris smiled.

Just then Emily came back out of the house with a container of cinnamon rolls. "Here you go Paris. You're in luck. I got 'em out of the oven not too long ago so they're still warm."

"Thanks so much, Emily."

"Now you girls go on and get out of here. I'll see you for lunch."

"Bye, Grandma," Rory waved as Paris backed down the driveway.

"Do you mind if we stop off at my house real quick? I know Mama would love to have one of these."

"Sure. I don't mind."

When they reached the end of the driveway Paris pulled up in front of a small, white house. As soon as she opened her door to get out a huge black lab came barreling into Rory, almost knocking her down. "Whoa! King! King, get down!" Paris shouted. "You'll have to excuse him. He gets excited around new people."

"It's okay," Rory said. "It's kind of cute. Terrifying, but cute."

Paris laughed. "Yeah, he's a bit big for his age. Daddy spoils him."

Rory followed Paris up the little walkway and into the house. It was much smaller than her grandparent's house, but just as cozy. The walls were covered in framed photos of Babette, Morey, and Paris of all ages. Off to the left, the kitchen was decked out in apples. There was apple border, curtains, place mats, and paintings. On the right was a hallway that branched off into three rooms that Rory could tell were a bathroom and two bedrooms. There was no Babette to be seen.

"She must already be out in the salon," Paris said walking toward the kitchen. Rory then noticed a door in the kitchen that led into Babette's hair salon. The salon was just what one would expect from a small home business. Along the back wall were 4 sinks and chairs, side by side. Along the left wall were 4 hair stations. And along the right wall were 4 chairs with hair dryers over them. Babette was walking around making sure all the hair stations had the proper equipment out when she noticed Paris and Rory. "Girls! What are you doin' here? I thought you were goin' shoppin'." Her voice seemed to echo even more throughout the room.

"We are, Mama. But Emily made cinnamon rolls and have leftovers so I thought I'd bring you one."

Babette's eyes lit up. "Well hand it over then."

Rory was quickly realizing that she wasn't the only one who was a fanatic for her grandmother's food.

"Rory, how are you doin' Sweetie?" Babette asked as she bit into her food.

"I'm fine. I've been having a lot of fun and it's been great hanging out with everyone."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. It's so nice to get you back here. You loved it so much when you was a baby."

"It's great. I love being able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa too."

"I know they love havin' you here too. Paris too. She usually spends her summer helpin' me out here and then hangin' with Dean and Jess. I'm glad she has you to keep her company this summer."

"Same here," Rory smiled.

"So Paris tells me that Jess gave you a ride home last night," Babette said, her face glowing despite Paris' groan.

"Paris speaks the truth."

"Did he put the moves on you yet?"

"Mama!" Paris shouted.

Rory just blushed. "Um, no. No moves."

"I'm sorry, Rory. Mama's a little outspoken at times," Paris apologized.

"What?" Babette asked. "Like you didn't see the looks they was givin' each other at supper the other night. I thought they was just gonna eat each other's faces off then and there."

Rory's blush intensified and she began stammering.

"Ignore her, Rory. Mama we're goin'. I'm havin' lunch at Emily's again. I'll be home later," Paris said as she grabbed Rory's arm and pulled her out of the salon and back through the house. "I really am sorry about her. She doesn't always think before she speaks."

"It's okay. She just caught me a little off guard."

"Trust me, you can never be fully on guard with Mama."

As they made it back out to the jeep and started towards Cato's Paris turned to Rory. "If you don't mind me askin' what did happen last night after me and Dean left?"

"Nothing really. We sat at a picnic table and talked for awhile and he drove me home," Rory sighed. "And I don't know what to think. One minute I'm flirting with him and asking if he likes what he sees when I catch him staring at me and the next I'm so worked up over sitting next to him that he has to put spaghetti on my plate because I'm shaking too much to do it. And he's the same way. One minute he's flirting and the next he's not kissing me. And I know we've only known each other for two days, but..."

"Whoa, whoa. What do you mean he's not kissin' you?"

"Last night we were laying on the picnic table and talking and then before I know it his face is right above mine and he gives me that look that implies he's just about to kiss me and then all of a sudden he sits up and asks me what I like to do when I'm at school."

"Yeah, that sounds like Jess alright."

"What do you mean?"

"Jess takes things slow. Really slow. He respects everyone and everything. Haven't you noticed that he's the only one that still calls your grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore? They told him for years he didn't have to, but that's just the way he is. He's big on showin' respect."

"Great. Make me like him even more," Rory grumbled.

Paris laughed. "Sorry, but it's the truth. He's only known you for like two days. He won't jump you just yet."

"So how _do_ I get him to jump me?" Rory asked.

"I honestly don't know. Jess is one of my best friends, but he is one of the biggest mysteries I've ever come across."

Rory couldn't agree more.

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"I can't believe how cheap everything was," Rory exclaimed as they made their way back to the jeep.

"I know. This place is great. The clothes are pretty cheap anyway, but when they put them on sale the prices are next to nothin'."

"I can't believe some of the stuff you talked me into buying."

"Hey, you're in Kentucky now. You got to learn to fit in," Paris laughed. "Plus I bet Jess will love it."

"Well, I guess it would be a waste to not wear them since I _did_ buy them," Rory joked.

"That's the spirit! Now do you have shoes for your ridin' lessons?" Paris asked.

"I don't think so. I think I brought mostly flip flops."

"Well Wal-Mart is right there. We can run in and get you a pair of tennis shoes."

"Okay."

After buying a pair of tennis shoes the girls headed back to the jeep and back towards the farm.

"I'm glad they had so many bathing suits to choose from too. I completely forgot about bringing one," Rory said.

"Yeah, you'll be really glad you bought those because soon it's going to be so hot you'll live at the lake."

The image of a shirtless Jess swimming in the lake dominated Rory's thoughts. The thought was made even worse by the fact that she knew what he looked like shirtless. That image had been seared into her brain. So involved in her thoughts she almost didn't hear Paris speaking to her. "So other than an almost kiss, nothin' else happened last night?"

"Not exactly nothing. When we were walking to Jess' truck he held my hand. I mean I know it's not much, but he didn't have to do that."

"That is _so_ cute. He may not be showing well, Rory, but he really does like you. I can promise you that."

Rory felt her stomach flutter at Paris' words. She could only hope they were true.

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Before too long they had made it back to the Gilmore house. Paris helped Rory carry her bags into the house.

"Just in time, girls!" Emily shouted "Richard and Jess will be here in a minute and I just finished settin' the table."

"Okay. We're going to take this upstairs and then we'll be down to eat," Rory said.

After dropping off the bags in Rory's room they made their way back to the kitchen. As they entered the kitchen Rory stopped in her tracks when she noticed Jess sitting at the table. She had hoped she would have a few minutes to prepare for him but here he was sitting in the same seat as yesterday smiling at her. She smiled back and looked at Emily. "Where's Grandpa?"

"Oh he'll be right in. He's just cleanin' up."

Just then the door opened and Richard came through. Rory rushed over to greet him. "Hi, Grandpa."

Richard wrapped Rory in a quick and tight hug before leading her back to the table. "Hello, Rory. You girls have fun last night?"

Rory glanced at Jess and saw him listening while pretending not to. "Yes, we did. A lot of fun. Jess and Dean made us play baseball."

Richard turned to look at Jess, "So how was she?"

"Not bad. She can hit pretty good for a beginner," Jess said smiling at Rory.

"The credit goes to Jess. He's the one that showed me how to," Rory said as she took her seat next to Jess.

Emily and Paris were sending glances at each other silently laughing at Rory and Jess' obvious gushing for one another.

"Rory, Jess tells me that you're startin' your ridin' lessons today," Richard said.

"That's the plan. Luckily Paris made sure I bought a pair of tennis shoes when we were out earlier."

"Oh, how was the sale?" Emily asked.

"Great. I got all the clothes I needed and Rory found a lot of clothes too."

"It was great. I bought so many outfits. Paris even talked me into a few things that I never would have ever thought about buying. And they had just put out a new shipment of bathing suits so I bought a few of those too."

As soon as she mentioned that Jess choked on his sweet tea.

"Are you okay there, Jess?" Paris asked smirking.

Jess coughed a few times. "Fine. I'm fine."

"Well I'm glad to hear that the trip was a success," Emily said.

They carried on light conversation throughout the rest of the meal, making sure to steer clear of Rory and bathing suits. After everyone was finished and Richard and Jess were getting ready to go back to work Richard turned to Rory and said, "Since today's your first lesson I'll let Jess go a little early. You can expect him back up here 'bout 4:00."

"Okay. I'll be waiting," Rory smiled at Richard and Jess.

"I'll see you then, Rory," Jess said as he was walking out of the door.

Rory just smiled again and waved at him. She waited until he was completely out of the door before turning back to Emily and Paris. They were both staring at her with matching smirks on their faces. "What?" she asked.

"Hopeless," Paris chuckled.

"Both of 'em," Emily agreed shaking her head.

Rory just stared at them for a moment before saying, "I'm going to hang up my new clothes," and hurried out of the room too embarrassed to stay.

Emily was still chuckling a little as she squeezed Paris' shoulder and went back into the kitchen to clean up. Paris went upstairs to Rory's room to help her with her clothes. "So you almost killed Jess with that comment about buyin' bathin' suits."

Rory laughed, "That was pretty entertaining."

"What are you goin' to wear to ride in?"

"I don't know. I was thinking about that earlier. What should I wear?"

"Well as hot as it is I think you should stick with shorts and a tank top. But wear the blue tank top you bought today. It looked great on you and Jess won't know what to do with himself."

"Thanks Paris. I really do appreciate this."

"It's no problem. I should be gettin' back home though. I'm supposed to help Mama out in the salon. Good luck and make sure you tell me everything about tonight."

"I promise."

"Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Paris."

After Paris left Rory finished hanging up the clothes and decided to take a bubble bath to calm herself a little for her first lesson. When she had finished her bath she got dressed in the blue tank top, shorts and her new tennis shoes. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and put in a pair of small hoop earrings too. Noticing she had a little more time to kill she pulled a book off the shelf to read for awhile.

Before she knew it it was 3:30 so she decided to go spend time with Emily while she waited for Jess to show up. Emily looked up as she saw Rory coming into the living room. "Rory, that shirt is beautiful on you. It really brings out your eyes."

"Thanks, Grandma."

"Are you ready to learn to ride a horse?"

"I'm a little nervous, but I'm ready."

"It's a bit scary at first, but then it's no big deal. I used to love to ride. My back won't let me do it much now, but every now and then I deal with pain just to give it another go."

Rory laughed. She was quickly learning her grandmother was as spirited as she was sweet. A little while later there was a soft knock at the side door and then Jess appeared. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Gilmore."

"Good afternoon, Jess. Thanks for teaching Rory."

"It's my pleasure," he said to Emily. Turning to Rory he asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah. See you later Grandma."

"I'll save you some supper, Sweetie. Jess you me to save you some too?"

"Sure, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all. You kids have fun and be careful."

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her," Jess said.

Emily smiled and waved them off.

"So you nervous?" Jess asked.

"A little. I'm also really excited. It's about 50/50."

"Nothin' to worry about. I'll make sure you're alright."

"Thanks."

"No problem. You've never ridden a horse at all have you?"

"No. I've never even really been around one. Well, except for when Grandpa let me pet one my first day here."

"Okay. To start off I'll introduce you to the horse. Then I'll show you how to saddle him. After that I'll take you for a ride to let you get the feel of it. Then it's all you."

"Sounds good."

They finally reached the horse stable. "Rory, I'd like you to meet Pepper," he pointed to a horse that was black except for a white splotch going down his face. "Pepper is a Quarter Horse. Quarter Horses are even tempered and that makes 'em great for new riders. They're also the most popular breed with a population of about 3.2 million."

"So you know a lot about horses?"

"It's all part of my dream farm. I want a lot of animals and I've always loved horses. I've had Pepper since I was 8."

"Pepper is your horse?"

"Yeah. A couple of the other ones are mine too, but me and Grandmama keep 'em here. It's easier for me to look after 'em because I'm here workin' more than I'm home."

"Which other ones are your's?"

After Jess pointed out which horses belonged to him and his grandma he lead Rory over closer to Pepper's stall. He opened the door and Pepper walked forward a few steps and stopped. Rory was a little intimidated by the size of the horse now that he was right in front of her. Jess noticed her hesitance. "Give me your hand."

Rory placed her hand in his and he placed it on Pepper letting her feel him. Jess pulled his hand away and Rory continued petting him. He lifted the brush off the nail on the stall and handed it to Rory. "Here. He loves to be brushed." Rory took it and brushed him. As she was brushing him Jess got the saddle pad, saddle, and bridle. He showed Rory how to attach everything and how to check it once it was done. He then handed her the reins and said, "Now lead him out of the barn. It might take him a minute, but he'll follow once you start walkin'."

Rory started walking and gently tugged the reins. Pepper followed her out, stopping after she did. "That wasn't so bad," she said.

Jess smiled. "I told you, Pepper is great for new riders. Now you need to mount the horse. I'll hold him steady while you get on. Stand on the left side and hold the reins in your left hand. Now, grab the saddle horn. Put your left foot in the stirrup and pull yourself up. Then lower yourself into the saddle and place your right foot into the other stirrup. Make sure your weight is distributed over the center of the horse. And use your legs to help keep your body in the saddle."

Rory did as Jess told her and managed to pull herself up onto the horse. "You okay?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. I'm great."

"Okay, now scoot back a little so I can get up."

Rory scooted back and leaned away a little so Jess could get on. "Now you're goin' to want to hold on," Jess told her.

She placed her hands on his hips and slid forward a little. "Is this good?" she asked.

Jess let go of the reins for a moment to pull her arms tighter around his waist. "Just hold on a little tighter. We don't want you to fall off, now do we?"

As she grasped his waist she could feel the hard muscles of his stomach contract. "Better?"

"Much," he replied. "Now to get the horse to go you'll want to gently kick. And to control where he goes pull the reins, pull 'em left if you want him to go left and right if you want him to go right. To get him stop you just pull 'em back."

"Okay."

"Here we go," Jess said as she felt him gently kick Pepper. Pepper immediately started moving walking forward in slow steps. "You'll also want to watch out for low tree branches and stuff that can knock you off the horse."

As Pepper moved forward Rory could feel herself slipping a little so she moved forward as far as she could and tightened her hold on Jess. "You okay?" he asked.

"Fine. I'm just slipping a little."

"Yeah, that happens at first. You'll get used to the movements and that won't happen after awhile." Rory was having a little difficulty focusing because her front was completely pressed up against his back. Jess was having equal problems concentrating. He could feel every little movement of Rory's. He could also feel her heart pounding against his back. Figuring she was a little more nervous than she was letting on he let one hand let go of the reins and wrapped it around her clenched fist. He felt Rory loosen up a little and he twined their fingers together, her hand against his stomach and his on top of hers.

As they continued to ride Jess would occasionally point out a place on the farm and tell something about it. Before long they reached a barn off to itself in the middle of a field. "This is a good place to switch," Jess said steering Pepper over to it. He pulled the reins and Pepper immediately stopped. Jess jumped down and reached up to wrap his arms around Rory's waist to help her down. He led Pepper over to the fence line where he immediately began to graze over the grass and grabbing Rory's hand Jess pulled her towards the barn. "I want to show you somethin'." He reached for the ring of keys hanging from one of his belt loops and unlocked the padlock on the barn door. "This is my favorite place," he said as he opened the door. The loft of the barn had hay strung all over it and part of the bottom floor did too. In one corner was a small framed twin size bed. "Your grandpa stopped using this barn a couple of years ago and let me use it. Whenever I want to disappear for awhile this is where I go. We put the bed in 'bout a year ago. See those boxes over there?" he asked pointing to a stack next to the bed. "They're full of books. I love to come here, kick back and read."

"It's like your own little private paradise," Rory said smiling.

"Pretty much. I don't think anybody else remembers it's here."

"It's nice."

"Yeah. We should probably get back to your lesson though."

"Okay. So it's my turn to lead?"

"Yeah. We can let you get the feel of it first by yourself and I'll walk beside you."

"Okay. Let's try that first."

"Alright. Let's go."

They walked back out of the barn and Jess turned to lock it again. He walked over to Pepper to lead him back to Rory. "Now just climb up like before and take hold of the reins."

Rory pulled herself back up and grabbed the reins. Jess stood next to her and Pepper. "Okay. Now just barely kick him and he'll start walkin'."

She gently kicked Pepper with her heel and he started off with a slow walk. Jess kept the pace next to them. "Now try to make him go left."

Rory pulled the reins to the left and felt Pepper move to the left. "Oh! It worked!"

Jess smiled at her enthusiasm. "Good job. Now try goin' right."

Going right worked just as well as the left. "Great. You're doin' great. You want to try to stop him now?"

Instead of answering Rory just pulled the reins. Pepper immediately stopped. "This is great, Jess!"

"I'm glad you're enjoyin' it."

"Do you want to come up now?"

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. Come up."

Jess pulled himself up and settled behind Rory wrapping his arms around her waist. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

As Pepper led them over the farm at a slow pace Rory slowly let one hand let go of the reins and placed it on top of Jess'. Jess smiled and shifted his pointer finger to rub against hers.

After awhile Rory asked, "Do you care if we head back now? I'm getting hungry."

"No, that's okay. I'm kind of hungry myself. We can get Pepper back in the stable and drive my truck back up to the house."

"Okay."

Rory directed Pepper towards the stable. When she pulled him to a stop Jess squeezed her hand and climbed down. He again reached up to wrap his arms around Rory's waist to help her down. Rory smiled her thanks and pulled Pepper to the stable. She helped Jess unsaddle him and put everything away. After Pepper was back in his stall Rory rubbed him again and said, "It was nice to meet you, Pepper. I can't wait to do it again."

Jess smiled at her and led her out the door. "My truck's over here," he said. When they reached it, Jess opened the door and helped her inside. He came around to his side and climbed in. "So, how did you like your first ridin' lesson?"

"It was great. Thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it. And thank you so much for letting me ride Pepper. He's really sweet."

"It's no problem. You can learn to ride a lot faster if you have a good horse. Pepper is the perfect horse for you. He's gentle and patient. I think he really liked you. And you don't have to thank me for teachin' you. It's my pleasure."

Rory smiled at him. "Okay then. Let's go get some food."

When they reached the house, Emily and Richard were sitting in their recliners watching the evening news. "You both have a plate warmin' in the oven," Emily said.

"Thanks." Rory and Jess said in unison.

While they were eating Richard came to join them at the table. "So how'd it go?"

"It was great Grandpa. I had a lot of fun and Jess explained everything really well."

Jess shrugged, "I didn't really need to explain much. She's a natural. Pepper took right up with her."

"Well that's nice to hear. I'm glad it's goin' so good for you, Rory. And thanks again Jess for teachin' her."

"It's no big deal. I'm happy to do it," Jess said smiling.

They continued to talk until Rory and Jess had finished eating. "Well, I best be gettin' home. I promised Grandmama I wouldn't be too late," Jess said.

"I'll see you in the mornin'," Richard told him.

"I'll walk you out," Rory said.

Jess smiled at Rory. "'Night, Mr. Gilmore."

"'Night, Jess."

On the way out Jess paused in the living room. "'Night, Mrs. Gilmore."

"'Night, Jess. Is Wendy feeling better?"

"She was a lot better this mornin'. I caught her tryin' to sneak out and work in the garden," he chuckled.

Emily laughed. "You tell her I said she best take it easy. She won't want me to have to make a trip out there."

Jess nodded, "Yes Ma'am, I'll tell her."

Rory looked over at Emily. "I'm going to walk Jess out."

Emily smiled at her. "Okay. And when you get back I want to hear all about your first ridin' lesson."

"Okay."

She and Jess turned to walk out the door. Rory followed him over to his truck and they leaned against the side. "I know you said I don't have to thank you for today, but I just wanted to say thanks anyway. I really do appreciate it."

Jess shifted a little closer to her. "It's no problem," he said as he reached out to pull a piece of a leaf from her hair.

Rory felt herself being drawn even further into him. "So do we have another lesson tomorrow?"

Jess leaned in a little too, "If you want. We can also work on gettin' you ready for a baseball game."

"Great." Rory looked up at him. They were close enough that she could reach out and kiss him if she wanted. And she did want to, but she remembered what Paris had said about Jess and wasn't sure how well he would take it. She could feel the charge in the air and not wanting to just ignore it she said, "Hey, Jess?"

"Yeah?" He asked in a hoarse voice.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but you smell like a horse."

And just like that the tension was lessened considerably. Jess laughed and leaned even further into Rory until his lips were up against her ear, "You don't smell so great yourself."

Rory pulled back, shock clearly written on her face. She wasn't expecting him to say that. Jess just laughed at her expression and leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Rory nodded as Jess got in his truck. "Goodnight, Jess."

"'Night, Rory."

Rory watched his truck back down the drive before heading inside. After she relayed the events of her riding lesson to Emily she went to go take a bath. She could feel her muscles starting to get sore and wanted to get a good night's sleep for her next lesson. She hoped it would be just as eventful.


	5. Chapter 5

Author: PGGF

Summary: Extremely AU. Rory lives in Hartford, Connecticut with her mother and step-father. Rory's never met her biological father so she refers to Chris as her dad. Chris and Lorelai are very wealthy and kind of stuck up. They've never really shown Rory much affection and keep her shipped off to boarding schools and ritzy summer camps so they don't have to deal with her. Richard and Emily live in Loretto, Kentucky on a farm. Lorelai basically cut them out of her life when she got married and they haven't actually seen Rory since she was very young. They still talk occasionally on the phone, but that's about it. Jess lives with his grandmother and works on Richard and Emily's farm. The backgrounds will be further explained throughout the story. Also, some of the other characters will be featured, but as this is an AU they'll be Kentucky as well. The story is mainly going to focus on Jess and Rory and I'm planning on it being fairly fluffy.

AN: I realize it has been months since I updated, but life took a really crazy and very unexpected turn. Things have calmed down a little since then so updates will definitely come sooner than this one. Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

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Rory could feel the effects of the horseback riding as she pulled herself out of bed the next morning. Her muscles were sore but she could not wait for more. She took a warm bath hoping to soothe her muscles a little. It did help until she moved her muscles to get out of the bathtub. The deep bathtub wasn't so lovable now. She finally managed to pull herself up with a groan to dry off and dress.

Walking down the stairs was a bit of a task too, but she finally made it into the kitchen where Emily was waiting with a plateful of pancakes and sausage links.

"Mornin', Sweetie."

"Good morning, Grandma."

"You a little sore this mornin'?"

"A little."

"I thought so. You're walkin' a little stiff."

"My shoulders and back are a little sore. My legs are _incredibly_ sore though."

"That happens in the beginnin'. It'll get better soon. Stretch a little before you go ridin' and that helps plenty."

"Okay."

"So what are your plans for the day?"

"Nothing really until Jess gets finished. Then we're going riding again and I'm probably going to watch the baseball practice tonight."

"No Paris today?" Emily asked while placing another pancake on Rory's plate and refilling her glass with milk.

"Not this morning, no. Dean has the day off so she's spending it with him and I'm going to meet up with her for the practice tonight."

"So what do you say you spend the afternoon with your ole Grandma?"

"I'd love to," Rory smiled. "I'm sorry I haven't gotten to spend much time with you or Grandpa yet," she finished a little guilty.

"Oh don't you go feelin' bad 'bout that. You're young, you're supposed to be out havin' a fun summer. You're makin' friends too. That's important for a young lady. Ain't that what your mom says anyway?"

Rory smiled and nodded.

"Now I've got to clean the house up a bit and get lunch ready for today, but after that how 'bout we go into town and do a little shoppin' or somethin'? I know you and Paris got clothes yesterday but I want to take you shoppin' for other things. I haven't really gotten a chance to spoil you yet."

"You don't have to..."Rory started.

"As your Grandma, it's my given right to spoil you as rotten as I want and you can't say or do anything that'll stop me."

Rory laughed. "Well, okay then."

Emily chuckled and patted Rory's hand before standing and began to wash the dishes in the sink. Rory finished up her breakfast and Emily held her hands out to take her dishes.

"Do you need any help with anything?" Rory asked.

"If you feel up to it could you please take the bag in the refrigerator and a jug of water down to the barn for Richard and Jess?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Sweetie. I appreciate it. The keys to the Gator are on the hook."

"Okay. If it's okay with you and Jess, I want to stop in and see the horses so I'm not exactly sure when I'll be back."

"Take your time. And give Daisy a rub for me. She's always been my favorite."

"I will. Bye, Grandma."

"Bye, Rory."

Rory was hit with a wave of hot air when she opened the door. It was a definite indicator of a very humid day. She made her way over to the Gator feeling her muscles loosen a little with every step. As she started the engine and steered the vehicle down the driveway she wondered if she would see Jess before lunch. She thought back to their goodbye last night and her cheek tingled where he had kissed it. Her thoughts drifted to how it would feel to actually kiss him and before she knew it she had arrived at the barn. She climbed out of the Gator, her muscles protesting a little as she did so, and grabbed the bag and water jug and walked into the barn.

She had just placed everything in the refrigerator when she felt a shock of pain shoot through her left shoulder. She slowly leaned up and rubbed the area.

"Sore?"

Rory jumped and turned around to see Jess walking towards her with a smile on his face.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. And yes, to answer your question, I am a little sore."

"I thought you might be. A lot of people don't really realize it, but ridin' a horse can make muscles you didn't even know you had sore."

"I've noticed," Rory said dryly.

At her tone, Jess grew a little concerned. "Is it really that bad?" he asked as his hands reached out to rub her sore shoulders and neck.

Rory's entire body flushed at the feel of Jess' work roughened hands on her bare shoulders. Before she could control it she let out a groan as his hands kneaded just the right spot.

"Feel good?" Jess murmured behind her.

"Amazing," Rory replied.

Jess slid his callused hands down her shoulders and arms to her back before massaging those knots out as well. The little groans of appreciation from Rory were causing Jess' mind to go into overtime. He was enjoying having her so relaxed under his hands but he was starting to think he'd gone too far. Richard would be showing up any minute and Jess wasn't sure what he would think of him pawing his only granddaughter. He slowly worked his way back up to Rory's shoulders before removing his hands from her completely.

He swallowed before asking, "Better?"

Rory took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Much better. Thanks," She said, turning back to face him.

"No problem. Like I said, it's like that at first, but it'll get better real fast. You'll see."

Rory nodded.

"You still want to go again today don't you?" Jess asked hopefully.

"Definitely." Rory said.

"Great. I'll try to get finished early so we can go as soon as possible."

"Sounds good. Just don't rush too much. I don't mind the wait."

Jess smiled and nodded.

Rory nodded in return and then noticed her grandfather walking into the barn.

"Mornin' Rory," he said as he made his way over to her to give her a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'd hug you but I've been workin' on that damn tractor all mornin' and I'm covered in oil."

"It's okay," Rory smiled. "You'll just owe me one next time."

"Fair enough. How are you feelin' this mornin'?"

"A little sore, but nothing major."

"You'll get used to it, just don't overdo it."

"I won't let that happen, Mr. Gilmore. I can promise that," Jess said smiling slightly at Rory.

"Yeah, I guess I can trust you to look out for her best interest," Richard chuckled.

"Yes, Sir, you can," Jess said seriously.

Rory flushed at Jess' look. "Um, well, I'll just leave you guys to your food," Rory said as she headed for the door. She stopped and looked back at Jess and asked, "Is it okay if I visit the horses?"

Jess smiled and nodded. "I'm sure they'd appreciate the company."

Rory smiled in return and gave a small wave before walking back to the Gator and carefully climbing inside to drive to the stables.

-------------------------------------------------------

Rory walked into the horse stables and looked around. There were many more horses that she had noticed last night. There were several different breeds at several different ages in the stables.

Looking above the stables she noticed a wooden beam that ran along both sides of the barn. On the beam were the names of the horses. And inside each stall, hanging on hooks, were the saddles and bridles.

She walked to the back of the barn and saw a white Lipizzan horse aptly named Snowflake. As she made her way up a few more stalls she saw a beautiful brown Palomino Quarter horse with the name Daisy painted overhead. She stepped forward and slowly descended her hand out to run her fingers through her gorgeous white mane.

"Hi, Daisy. I hear you're my Grandma's favorite. It's nice to meet you."

Daisy immediately leaned her head to the side to nuzzle Rory.

"I think she likes you," came a deep southern drawl from behind her.

Rory jumped a little and looked back towards the doorway. Jess was leaning against the frame. He chuckled at her jumpiness and said, "Sorry. I really don't mean to keep scarin' you."

"It's okay," Rory smiled.

Jess pushed away from the door frame and walked over to her as he pulled a small, round tin container out from his back pocket. "I meant to give you this earlier, but I got a little distracted," he said blushing a little.

"What is it?" Rory asked as she took the container from him.

"It's somethin' Grandmama makes for sore muscles. It works miracles believe me. After all the heavy liftin' and everything I do on the farm the store-bought stuff quit workin'. This stuff won't."

"Thanks," Rory smiled.

Jess' breath caught in his throat at how beautiful she looked in that moment and he just nodded his head before saying, "I was thinkin' last night you might be needin' somethin' so I brought it for you."

Rory thought Jess looked adorable as his cheeks flushed and he stumbled on his words. "I really appreciate it," she told him as she reached out to grasp his hand in hers and squeezed.

Jess ran his thumb over her hand before slowly letting it drop and saying, "Well, I best be gettin' back to work. I'll see you at lunch."

"I'll be there," Rory said.

Jess smiled at her before walking back out into the humid summer heat.

Rory continued to explore the stables getting to know some of the other horses before deciding to head back to the house to see if she could be of any help cooking lunch.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi, Grandma. Can I help with anything?" Rory asked she entered the house.

"You can make the macaroni salad if you want," Emily smiled.

"Okay. Let me just wash my hands first."

As Rory was at the sink scrubbing her hands, Emily asked,"Did you get to visit with the horses much?"

"For awhile. I didn't realized there were so many. And so many breeds. I think I only saw a couple that were the same."

Emily chuckled, "When Jess was younger he wanted to be a cowboy, but he couldn't make up his mind which breed or horse was his favorite so his Grandaddy would just buy him a new one until he could figure it out."

Rory laughed along with her. "He was really close to his grandpa, huh?" She asked as she started a pot of water to boil.

Emily nodded. "Very close. Jess never really got to know his parents so Wendy and Tom were all he's ever had. Liz, his mom, was hellbent on gettin' outta here and wound up in New York married and pregnant 'fore she knew what had happened. They just weren't willin' to look after Jess the way a baby needs lookin' after. Things got real bad with 'em and before anybody knew what was happenin' they were droppin' Jess off in the middle of the night and goin' off who knows where. Nobody's seen or heard from 'em since."

"That's horrible," Rory said.

"Yeah, well I think it's the best thing that ever could of happened to Jess. They weren't ready for a baby and Wendy and Tom were perfect for him. They've always treated him so good. And him and Tom did everything together. I still remember when Jess wasn't but knee high to a grasshopper he was out on the lake fishin' with Tom and Richard. And between you and me he always caught the bigger fish!" Emily laughed. "He was so cute though. He'd be right outside with 'em while they were cleanin' the fish and he'd always try to take over. I used to catch him sittin' back and watchin' every little move Tom made so he could copy it later. He'd wear the same style jeans, the same button up shirts, the same boots. He wanted to be just like Tom."

"That's good that he had someone to look up to though," Rory said.

"Tom thought the world of Jess too. He couldn't have been more proud of how that boy turned out. And I know he feels the same way now with the way Jess takes care of Wendy."

"Jess is a good guy," Rory nodded as she poured the macaroni into the boiling pot.

"He sure is. I guess you two have gotten to know each other pretty well."

"Pretty much. I haven't known him very long but at the same time I feel like I've known him my whole life," Rory said with a small smile.

"You like him don't you, Sweetie?" Emily asked quietly.

Rory nodded. "Yes, yes I do. I like him a lot." Rory shyly admitted. "I don't know what to do though because I'm only here for the summer. I mean what if we start something and it goes well and then I leave? Or what if we start something and it doesn't go well and then we have to see each other all summer long?" Rory was starting to panic.

Emily reached out to pat her hand. "I think you and me both know that the last one you said would never happen. And as for the other one, well, like you said, you're only here for the summer, but you know that you are more than welcome to come and visit whenever you want. And Richard would say the same thing."

Rory knew that her grandma was letting her know that she was fine with her and Jess becoming more than friends and that made Rory feel much better about everything. Rory threw her arms around Emily and whispered, "Thanks, Grandma."

Pulling back she smiled and said, "Ok. Now, what do we do to turn this macaroni into macaroni salad?"

Emily laughed and said, "You mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl. And then you stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot, pimentos and macaroni. Put some saran wrap over it and put in the refrigerator."

As Rory did as Emily instructed she told her, "I think this is the closest I've ever came to actually cooking."

"Really? Well how would you like to cook lunch today?"

"Seriously? Will people eat it after I make it?"

Emily burst out laughing. "I'm sure it will be fine. I'll keep an eye on you."

"If you think it'll be ok..."

"It'll be fine," Emily assured her.

Over the next couple of hours Emily calmly and patiently explained and watched as Rory breaded and cooked the pork chops and shucked, seasoned, and cooked the corn on the cob. She also let Rory in on her top secret yeast roll recipe. Rory had just taken the rolls out of the oven as Richard and Jess walked into the kitchen.

"Well, ain't this a surprise," Richard said at the sight of Emily setting the kitchen table and Rory standing near the stove removing the rolls from the baking pan and placing them in a basket.

"Hi, Grandpa. I cooked lunch today. Hopefully you make it through the experience alive," Rory laughed.

"I'm sure you did just fine. I look forward to it," Richard said giving her a quick kiss on her forehead before sitting down at the table.

"I look forward to it as well," Jess smiled as he walked toward the table.

Rory smiled in return. "Okay, what would everyone like to drink?" she asked as she sat the rolls on the table.

"I don't think so," Jess said jumping up from the table. "After you've cooked all this for us the least I can do is get the drinks."

Emily and Rory shared a look. "Okay. I'll have sweet tea then," Rory said as she sat down. She glanced over at Richard and noticed him smiling knowingly at her.

"I'll have the same," he said.

"Mrs. Gilmore? What do you want?" Jess asked.

"Water, please."

"Yes, ma'am," Jess said as he sat a glass of sweet tea down in front of Richard's plate. As he sat Rory's glass down in front of her he gently squeezed her shoulder as he walked away. He finished filling his and Emily's glasses before sitting back at the table.

As everyone began filling their plates Richard said, "Jess since you're coachin' tonight do you want to knock off a bit early so you and Rory can go ridin' again?"

"If you're sure that's alright."

"It's fine with me. It'll give me a little break and it'll be nice to just relax for the night before havin' to get started in the tobacco fields in the next day or two."

"Yes, sir, it will."

"I reckon we'll be finished today 'bout 2:30 or 3."

"Alright. I'll be up here around that time to pick you up Rory."

"Sounds good to me."

"And Rory, I just have to say that you did a great job on lunch," Emily said.

"I agree," Richard said.

"I have to go along with 'em. It's really good," Jess replied.

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without Grandma though. She's a great teacher."

"And I'll help you with anything else you want to make. Just let me know," Emily said smiling.

"Well, if we want to get done early we need to be gettin' back out there, Jess," Richard said.

"Yes, sir," Jess said standing up. He turned to Rory. "Lunch really was great. You should be proud," he smirked before walking out of the kitchen.

Rory said a quick goodbye to Richard before insisting on helping Emily clean up the dishes and store the leftovers. After they finished in the kitchen Emily lead Rory out to her car and headed into town.

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"Grandma, really this is too much," Rory tried again as Emily loaded more books into the cart.

"Now I told you before that nothin' would stop me from spoilin' you as much as I wanted to and it's best to just let me do it," Emily said as she pushed the cart to another aisle. "Now, I thought after you saw how much better food is cooked on an iron skillet I'd buy you one of your own."

"Sounds great," Rory said smiling knowing that no matter what she was getting one.

"Do you want or need anything else?" Emily asked as they headed towards the checkout counter.

"Nope. I think you've successfully bought out the entire store," Rory laughed.

"Well, then my work here is done."

Emily lead Rory to a few more places, buying her several more things before they drove back to the house. Rory was in the process of putting away the new CDs and books when she saw Jess' truck pull into the driveway. She forced herself to walk down the stairs at a normal pace instead of running off as she'd really wanted to do.

"Grandma, Jess is here so I'm leaving," Rory said to Emily.

Emily looked up from her cross-stitching and said, "Have fun and be careful. Will you be comin' back before goin' to watch the baseball practice?"

"Probably. I'll want to shower before we go and maybe eat something."

"Okay. I'll keep a lookout for you and I'll make you somethin' to have before you go."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Sweetie."

Rory made it outside just as Jess was climbing out of the truck.

"Hello again," Rory said.

"Hello to you too," Jess nodded at her.

"Where are we riding to today?"

"Well, if it's alright with you I thought about maybe goin' around the entire farm."

"Sounds good to me. That is, if you think I'm ready for it."

"I think you're more than ready. So let's get after it then," Jess said holding the passenger truck door open and his hand out to help her in.

Jess made his way around his side of the truck and climbed in. As he started the engine a classic rock station blared out of the speakers making Rory smile. As Jess backed out of the driveway Rory noticed the adorable way he lightly bobbed his head to the beat and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. He also would occasionally sing the lyrics under his breath.

They reached the horse stables shortly after and Jess rushed around to help Rory out of the truck and continued to hold her hand until they made their way inside.

"Do you want to take Pepper out again?" Jess asked.

"Yes. Definitely."

"Okay. You want to help me get him ready?"

"Sure."

Jess handed Rory the brush and she immediately began to brush him all over as Jess got the saddle and everything else off the wall. He handed Rory the saddle pad and watched her carefully place it on Pepper's back before also putting on the saddle and the bridle. After doing a brief check up of her work he assured her she did a good job and watched as she lead Pepper out the stables and into the grass. Rory remembered to climb on from the left side and as soon as she got settled Jess climbed up and situated himself behind her.

"Ready?" Rory asked.

"Definitely," Jess said placing his hands on Rory's waist.

Rory smiled and lightly kicked her heel to get Pepper to move.

As they made there way around the farm, Rory gradually let one of her hands free from the reins to wrap around Jess' left hand to pull it tighter around her waist. Jess smiled and shifted closer to her and wrapped his right hand tighter around her as well and propped his chin on her shoulder to whisper, "I think you may be the first person I've ever seen to learn to ride so good so fast."

Rory smirked at him. "I think it's all in the teaching. And I'm just lucky enough to have a teacher who grew up wanting to be a cowboy."

Jess groaned and buried his face in her neck. "I guess you and Mrs. Gilmore had a little talk?"

Rory chuckled. "She just mentioned that you had a hard time figuring out what kind of horse you wanted when you were younger. Nothing terribly embarrassing. I promise."

"I couldn't help it. My Grandaddy watched a lot of westerns when I was growin' up and I was always sittin' right next to him watchin' 'em too. I just thought cowboys led the greatest life ever. They were always travelin' and doin' things without taken much credit for it. They'd do their job and move on to the next town. The good cowboys anyways. Grandaddy didn't let me watch the ones with the "bad" cowboys," Jess laughed.

"I used to want to be a fairy. I thought I could make everybody's life better by flying around and sprinkling fairy dust on them to make their problems go away. I had a wand and a pair of wings and everything."

"Cute," Jess said smiling.

"I think the cowboy thing was cuter," Rory teased. "So did you have a hat and boots?"

Jess nodded. "I had a hat, boots, and a lasso. And every single Garth Brooks song ever memorized."

Rory laughed. "Are there pictures? Please tell me there are pictures."

"I'm terribly sorry, ma'am, but that's classified information."

Rory laughed even louder. "That's a yes if I ever heard one."

Jess laughed right along with her, pulling her even closer. "You don't need wings and a wand to make people's lives better," he whispered before placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Thanks," Rory said softly, giving him a small smile.

"No problem."

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After riding around the farm Rory steered Pepper back to the barn and helped Jess put everything away.

Jess then led her over to his truck to drive her back to her grandparent's house.

"So you're comin' to practice tonight?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded her head. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Good," Jess grinned. "Um, do you need a ride?"

"I think Paris is supposed to come and pick me up."

"Well, if she can't let me know and I'll come get you."

"Okay. Thanks," Rory said getting out of the truck and waving.

Jess waved back before descending down the driveway.

Rory watched until she couldn't see him anymore and headed inside and upstairs to shower.

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"Rory, Sweetie, there's a plate for you warmin' in the oven and Paris said for you to call her when you're ready and she'll come up and get you," Emily said as Rory came into the living room.

"Okay. Thanks."

While Rory ate Emily joined her at the table and asked how her riding lessons were going. As Rory was filling Emily in Richard came into the kitchen.

"All done for the day, Grandpa?" Rory asked.

"I sure am. You enjoy ridin' with Jess today?"

Rory nodded. "Oh yes. Jess is a great teacher and we have a lot of fun together. And I just love Pepper. He's so sweet."

Richard smiled. "I'm glad to see you and Jess gettin' along so well. I'm glad you're enjoyin' yourself so far."

"It's amazing here. It's so much more peaceful and relaxing than the city."

"I know exactly what you mean," Richard said while Emily nodded in agreement.

"And I was wondering, since I spent today with Grandma I wanted to know if you would spend tomorrow with me?"

"Well I'd be delighted. I'll take you to see some sights in Bardstown maybe. Or you can tell me what you want to do and we'll do it," Richard beamed.

"Bardstown sounds great."

"It sure does. I can't wait," Richard said giving Rory a hug as she stood up. "Now you have fun and be careful tonight."

"I will, Grandpa. Thanks."

Rory quickly washed her dishes and rushed over to the phone to call Paris.

"Hello?" Paris answered.

"Hey, Paris. It's Rory. I just wanted to let you know that I'm ready whenever you are."

"Great. I'll be up in a few minutes. And I was wonderin' if after practice you wanted to hang out with us at Dean's for awhile. His parents are gone for a couple of days and we were gonna go watch a movie and maybe go swimmin' since it's so hot."

"That sounds great. I'll ask and let you know when you get here."

"Okay. I'll see you in a few."

After hanging up with Paris Rory made sure her grandparents didn't mind her staying out later and rushed back up to her room to put a bathing suit under her shorts and tank top. She was walking back downstairs when Paris pulled up.

"Bye Grandma. Bye Grandpa," Rory said as she gave them both hugs before leaving.

"So how did it go with Jess?" Paris asked as soon as Rory got in the jeep.

"Fine," Rory blushed.

"That good, huh?" Paris teased as she backed out of the driveway.

Rory filled Paris in on the details of her riding lessons as they drove to the baseball field.

Jess waved at Rory as her and Paris walked towards the bleachers.

"He's really good with those kids," Rory said to Paris, watching Jess explain a point to the kids on the field.

"Yeah, he is. And they all love him. They just sort of tolerate Dean because he comes with Jess," Paris laughed. "He likes teaching them things, but he doesn't connect with them the way Jess does."

"Jess is great at connecting with people," Rory said.

Paris whistled. "Dang girl, you do have it bad."

"Shut up," Rory shoved her good naturedly.

"I get what you mean though. Jess has this ability to make you feel so comfortable around him."

Rory continued watching Jess as he instructed the kids on what they should do. She noticed how he never grew impatient with them and how he didn't give up until the kid succeeded in hitting the ball or catching it. Before she knew it, practice was over and parents were showing up to take their kids home.

Rory and Paris made their way over to Dean and Jess after they waved at the last car to leave.

"So, I just wanted to tell you that you have such a way with those kids. They really admire you," Rory said to Jess.

Jess blushed at her praise. "It's no big deal really. I like them and I like to see them play their best. Any coach would feel the same."

"If you say so," Rory smiled.

"I do say so. Now you take this bat and go knock one out of the park," Jess smirked.

"Sure thing, Coach."

They had only been playing for about half an hour before Paris threw her glove down and said, "Screw this. It's hot. Let's go to Dean's."

"I'm with Paris. It's too hot for this," Dean said.

Jess looked at Rory and she shrugged. "Fine with me."

"Me too," Jess said. "I can drive Rory, if that's okay with her."

"That's fine," Rory said.

As Jess and Rory began gathering up the equipment to put away, Paris looked over at Dean. "So, how much longer until they're eatin' each other's faces off?"

Dean laughed. "I give 'em 'til the end of the night."

Paris nodded. "You're probably right." But she couldn't contain her excitement at seeing Jess led Rory towards his truck with his hand on her lower back. "They are soooo cute," she squealed.

Dean raised his eyebrow at her squeal.

"That never happened," Paris said, dragging a laughing Dean to her jeep.

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As Jess was driving to Dean's he looked over at Rory. "You feel better then you did earlier?"

"Oh yeah. That stuff you gave me is amazing. I put it on this morning after I got home from shopping with Grandma and again before Paris picked me up."

"Good. I'm glad it's helpin'."

They continued driving a couple of miles past the Gilmore's driveway before Jess pulled into a gravel driveway. At the top of the driveway was a cozy, one story yellow house with white shutters and a white swing on the front porch.

After stopping the truck, Jess walked around to help Rory climb down. Paris had just gotten out of her jeep and caught Rory's eye, giving her a small smile. Dean led the way to the front door, unlocking it and holding it open for everyone to walk through.

Rory looked around the living room. It was very quaint. There were two overstuffed loveseats and an overstuffed chair. An entertainment center with a large television was against a wall and a coffee table littered with magazines was in the middle of the room.

"Have a seat and I'll get everybody a drink. Is sweet tea okay with everybody?" Dean asked.

Everyone agreed and Paris dropped down on one of the loveseats while Rory and Jess sat on the other one.

Dean walked back into the room and handed out glasses to everyone. "I'm makin' popcorn too. So what movie are we watchin'?"

"Anything is fine with me." Rory smiled.

"Me too," Jess said.

"Paris?" Dean turned to her. "I know you have an opinion," he said teasingly.

Chuckling, Paris made a face at him before saying, "How 'bout Willy Wonka?"

"I _love_movie," Rory exclaimed. She blushed a little as everyone laughed at her excitement. "Sorry, but I really do love that movie and I haven't seen it in a long time," Rory finished slightly dropping her head in mild embarrassment.

"I love it too," Jess said, grabbing Rory's hand and rubbing his thumb over it until she looked up and smiled.

Dean noticed the way Jess was staring at Rory and smiling so he said, "I think that one's in my room. Paris, wanna come help me find it?"

Paris quickly agreed and followed him into his room.

Rory and Jess were still holding hands, staring and smiling at each other when they came back into the living room.

"Found the movie," Dean said. "Paris, can you get it started while I get the popcorn?"

"Sure." Paris glanced at Rory and Jess and they were still off in their own little world. She chuckled to herself. She was so happy for both Rory and Jess. They both seemed to really like each other and she knew they would work together perfectly. She had just settled back onto the loveseat when Dean came in two bowls of popcorn. He handed one to Rory and Jess before giving the other one to Paris.

As the movie started Rory and Jess both would reach into the popcorn bowl and graze each other's hands before separating only to do it all over again.

When the Oompa Loompas came on, both Rory and Paris giggled.

"The Oompa Loompas are my favorite part," Rory said.

"Mine too," Paris said.

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After the movie, Dean suggested swimming.

"I guess it's a good thing I put a bathing suit on earlier," Rory said.

"Me too," Paris said. "I almost didn't do it because I wasn't sure if we were actually gonna swim or not."

Dean went to grab towels for everyone as Jess tried to grasp the fact that he'd be seeing Rory in a bathing suit in a matter of minutes.

Paris led everyone to the lake next to the house. Dean dropped the towels on the ground and quickly stripped down to his boxers before jumping in the water.

Paris laughed at his eagerness before pulling her tank top off to reveal her dark red bikini top. Rory took a deep breath and followed suit. She pulled her tank top off and folded it before gently laying it on a towel. Her bikini top was a simple baby blue one and Jess couldn't take his eyes off her. In the short amount of time that she had been in Kentucky her shoulders and neck had tanned a little but her chest and stomach were considerably lighter. And due to the moon cascading down on the lake he noticed a smattering of freckles all over her upper body.

As Rory turned to face him, he quickly shot his eyes up to her face. "What are you waiting for, Jess? Show us some skin!" She laughed.

"Yeah, Jess," Paris teased. "All the cool kids are doin' it."

Jess chuckled before whipping his shirt over his head and cocking his eyebrow. "Better?"

Now it was Rory's turn to stare. She had seen him shirtless before but didn't think she'd get to see him that way again so soon. He was gorgeous. Working on a farm for so long had certainly done his body justice.

"Well Rory seems to think so, but I've seen better," Paris said good naturedly before shoving her shorts down her legs and kicking them off and jumping into the water before Rory or Jess could respond.

Rory quickly shook the shocked look off of her face and kicked her shoes off, shoving her socks inside of them. She slowly reached for the button of her denim shorts and slid them down her legs. Jess' mouth ran dry as he watched the shorts hit the ground before she picked them up and folded them, placing them on top of her tank top. Her bikini bottoms were the same shade as the top and he thought she looked amazing in it. It didn't reveal too much but at the same time showed enough skin that he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight.

Rory looked at Jess nervously before crossing her arms in front of her chest. Jess smiled slightly at her hesitance before kicking off his own shoes and socks and shoving his jeans off to reveal black and red plaid boxers. He gently took her hand and walked her to the water. As their hands were submerged he shifted his slightly so their fingers were intertwined.

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After swimming for awhile everyone got out to attempt to dry off a little before having to go home. Paris and Dean had wondered off to the porch swing while Rory and Jess were sitting on a tree stump in the back yard, with their towels wrapped around their waists, star watching. They were leaning in close together, practically whispering.

"I can't get over how beautiful it is here. You can actually see the stars," Rory said just as a faint gust of wind blew through.

"Cold?" Jess murmured.

"A little," Rory said.

"Be right back," Jess said.

He returned with his t-shirt. "Here."

"Thanks," Rory said pulling it on and immediately feeling warmer.

"Look! A shooting star," Rory exclaimed. "I've never seen one before."

"Make a wish," Jess said smiling at her excitement.

Rory closed her eyes and made her wish. Afterwards she kept her eyes closed and smiled slightly. Jess looked at her for a moment and couldn't get over how beautiful she looked in that moment. Her hair was still damp and pulled up into a messy ponytail and she was wearing his shirt and a towel around her waist looking completely at peace. Jess continued looking for a moment before slowly leaning in and gently kissing first her cheek and then her lips. He pulled back to gauge her reaction. She was smiling even more now. She slowly opened her eyes and brought her hands up to his face to gently pull him back into her. As they kissed Rory shivered again, but this time it had nothing to do with being cold. In fact, she was now quite warm as she and Jess gently explored each other's mouths.

Finally, having to pull back to breathe, Jess rested his forehead against Rory's, both panting heavily.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Rory asked.

Jess rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. "Do you want to be with me?"

Rory nodded eagerly. "More than anything."

"Then that's exactly what it means," Jess said.

Rory pulled him to her lips again and Jess went willing. Breathing was overrated anyway.

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AN: So there you have it. I worked for awhile trying to make this chapter great and I hope you thought I did the first kiss justice. Thanks for reading.


	6. Chapter 6

Author: PGGF

Summary: Extremely AU. Rory lives in Hartford, Connecticut with her mother and step-father. Rory's never met her biological father so she refers to Chris as her dad. Chris and Lorelai are very wealthy and kind of stuck up. They've never really shown Rory much affection and keep her shipped off to boarding schools and ritzy summer camps so they don't have to deal with her. Richard and Emily live in Loretto, Kentucky on a farm. Lorelai basically cut them out of her life when she got married and they haven't actually seen Rory since she was very young. They still talk occasionally on the phone, but that's about it. Jess lives with his grandmother and works on Richard and Emily's farm. The backgrounds will be further explained throughout the story. Also, some of the other characters will be featured, but as this is an AU they'll be Kentucky as well. The story is mainly going to focus on Jess and Rory and I'm planning on it being fairly fluffy.

AN: I had this chapter ready to go a couple of days ago, but I changed it at the last minute. I wasn't entirely happy with it before. I like the way this one turned out. I didn't get a chance to edit it before posting so I apologize in advance for any errors. I'm planning on going back and correcting some mistakes in all the other chapters as well. 

Chapter 6

Rory couldn't keep the grin off her face when she awoke the next morning. She and Jess had finally kissed and it was amazing. They had kissed for a long while at Dean's and then for several more minutes in the driveway when Jess was dropping her off. She practically floated down the stairs as she recalled the way his lips felt pressed onto hers. The warmth of his mouth and the wetness of his tongue caressing hers. And the quick pecks as Jess helped her out of the truck and walked her to the door. And the last gentle kiss as he whispered he'd call her the next morning.

"Good morning, Grandma," Rory said cheerfully giving Emily as hug before pouring herself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "Would you like some?" she asked, still smiling.

"Sure, Sweetie," Emily said with a smile. Rory sat the glasses down at the table and began filling her plate as Emily chuckled next to her.

"I take it things went well with Jess last night?"

Rory grinned again and nodded. "Things went very well. We're together now."

Emily saw how Rory could hardly contain her joy and hugged her tightly. "I am so happy for you, Honey."

Rory smiled gratefully. "How do you think Grandpa will take it?"

"Oh don't you worry 'bout him. He'll be tickled to pieces. I just know he will."

"I hope so. Will he be joining us for breakfast?"

"Not this mornin'. He's gettin' ready to set tobacco and couldn't sleep a lick last night. He always gets like this 'bout this time of the year. The Farmer's Almanac is callin' for a dry summer and he has so many acres he's plantin'. He wanted to go out and get another look at the fields and make sure they're fertile and all. If the weather's too bad this summer the crop may not raise right. I expect he'll be back soon and he's lookin' forward to spendin' the day with you so you best eat up before he gets back."

Rory nodded and took her plate to the table. "So this summer is going to be dry?"

"That's what they're sayin'. I sure hope not though. That kind of weather ain't really good for the garden or other crops either. It does make the lake more enjoyable though."

"I can imagine. I guess I better stock up on SPF 15 now, huh?"

Emily laughed. "I reckon that wouldn't be a bad idea at all, Dear."

The phone rang just as Rory was rinsing her dishes in the sink.

"I'll get it!" She exclaimed and practically ran to the phone. "Hello?" she answered a little out of breath. 

"Mornin'," came Jess' southern drawl.

"Good morning to you too."

"Last night, did you really mean what you said? You know, 'bout wantin' to be with me?"

"Yes, definitely. What about you?"

"I for sure wanna be with you. I was just makin' sure you still felt the same this mornin'. Early mornin' paranoia, I guess."

Rory chuckled. "Well, rest assure that I haven't changed my mind."

"Good. So...how are you?"

"Full. I just ate a whole stack of Grandma's waffles. How are you?"

"Just fine. It feels good to have they day off. Gives me a chance to catch up on my readin'."

"Yeah? So do you have any plans for later? I'd like to see you," she finished shyly.

"Um, well, actually Grandmama was wonderin' if you wanted to come over tonight for Sunday supper? She's goin' nuts wantin' to meet you."

"Sure. I'd love to."

"Really? If you don't really feel like it I can maybe convince her to wait a bit."

"No, no. It's fine. I look forward to meeting her."

"She'll be glad to hear that. I am too. Plus, I want to see you again, too." His voice dropped slightly at that last omission.

Rory blushed. "Can't wait."

"Me either. Now is there anything in particular you feel like eatin' tonight?"

"Not really. I'm not picky," Rory chuckled.

"Alright. I'll probably come pick you up 'bout 5, if that's okay."

"Sounds great."

"Okay. I'll see ya then. And have fun with your grandpa today."

"I'm sure I will. Thanks."

"Do you know what you're gonna do yet?"

"I'm not really sure. I told him to decide. He mentioned going to see some of the sights in historic Bardstown."

"Well I'm sure you'll have fun together no matter what you do."

"Thanks. Would it be okay if I call you when we get home?"

"I'd like that."

Rory grinned. "Okay, so I'll talk to you later then."

"Sure will. Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Jess."

Rory hung up the phone still smiling.

"If you keep that up pretty soon your face is gonna hurt from all the smilin' you're doin'," Emily teased.

"I can't help it," Rory laughed. "Jess' grandma invited me over for supper tonight."

"Well that's great. You'll love Wendy."

"I'm sure I will, but will she like me?" Rory suddenly got nervous.

"Oh, I'm know she will. You are a very likable young lady."

"Thanks. I'm going to go finish getting ready. Can you tell me when Grandpa gets back?"

"Sure thing, Sweetie."

----------------------------------------------------

As Rory was slipping on her flip-flops Emily called up the stairs that Richard was back and would soon be ready to leave.

"Good mornin', Rory. You're lookin' as lovely as ever," Richard said cheerfully as Rory entered the living room.

"Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself, Grandpa."

Emily chuckled. "Well you two have fun today. I have some errands I need to run in town but I'll be home before you get back."

Richard held the door open for Emily and gently guided her through before continuing to hold it open for Rory and locking it behind her.

Rory smiled as she watched Richard open the car door for Emily, kissing her softly before helping her inside and making sure her seatbelt was in place before shutting the door and kissing her once more through the open window.

It was refreshing to see a couple still so happy and in love. She never saw that with her parents. She saw an occasional hug or quick kiss between them but nothing compared to her grandparents.

Richard then came over to help Rory into the truck before starting the engine and backing down the driveway with Emily following. When they reached the end of the driveway Richard turned to go left and Emily honked twice and waved before turning right.

"So how does spendin' the day in historic Bardstown sound?"

"Sounds great. I love stuff like that. I'm sort of a dork. At school while most of the girls are shopping or partying I'm in my room reading, writing, or watching the History or Discovery channel."

"You're mom mentioned once that you were smart and did good in school. Have you figured out what college you want to go to?"

Rory shrugged. "Mom and Dad want me to do the Ivy league thing, but that's just not me. You have to be involved in a lot of extracurricular activities and be so cut-throat to get accepted. I can see why, but at the same time that just really isn't where I want to spend fours years of my life. I can still get a quality education somewhere else and not have to jump through all of those hoops to get there. Does that make sense or do I just sound completely crazy for actually not wanting to go to Harvard or Yale?"

"Makes perfect sense to me," Richard nodded. "There are a lot of great schools out there that ain't Ivy league. Not everyone wants do that sort of thing and that's fine. I'm sure you'll make the most of any degree you get."

"Thanks," Rory smiled. "What would you think if I applied to some schools in Kentucky?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Paris has mentioned a couple that she's applying to and they supposedly have really great writing programs."

"If that's what you want to do then you do it. And if you do decide to come back here and go to school you know that you always have a place to stay and we'll help out in any way we can. I can even take you to look at some schools sometimes if you want."

Rory smiled. "I'd really appreciate that."

"So how did it go last night? Ya'll get much of a chance to play any ball?"

"We played for a little bit. It just got too hot for us so Paris suggested we go to Dean's to cool off. We watched a movie and went swimming."

"I'm glad you're makin' friends. I was a little scared of how you kids would get along but I couldn't be happier that it's workin' out so well."

"Everybody's great. I haven't known Paris for long at all but she's already the closest friend I've ever had. I really enjoy being around Dean too. He's really nice. And Jess..." Rory trailed off a little. "Jess is amazing. I've never met anyone like him before."

Richard nodded. "Jess is a damn good boy. There ain't many more like him."

"Yeah," Rory agreed. She then took a deep breath and rushed out, "Grandpa, last night Jess and I kissed and we talked about it and we're going to be together now."

Richard was smiling to himself. "I was wonderin' how long it would be 'til that happened. Gotta say, I'm a little surprised it took ya'll this long."

Rory looked shocked. "What?"

"When you first met we was all sayin' that you'd get together in no time. We could just tell."

"So you're okay with it?" Rory asked unsure.

Richard took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it on top of 

Rory's. "I'm fine with whatever you want to do. It's your lives. You and Jess are both smart, respectable, mature kids. I can see why you two would be attracted to each other."

"I'm so glad you're okay with it. I never want to do anything to hurt or upset you and Grandma."

"The only way you'd do that would be if you cut us out of your life after this summer."

"Well that will never happen," Rory said firmly. "I've missed so many years with you two as it is and I don't want to miss anymore. You guys are stuck with me now."

Richard chuckled. "I couldn't be happier to know that I'm stuck with you from now on."

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Richard showed Rory around historical Bardstown. He showed her My Old Kentucky Home, the civil war museum, the Kentucky Railroad Museum, and a few distilleries. For lunch he took her to the My Old Kentucky Home Dinner Train.

Rory was delighted that as they were looking around Richard began mentioning other places he'd like to take her later in the summer. She loved the fact that he was planning even more for them to do. She was getting to know her grandpa better and was loving him more and more. He looked rather intimidating due to his size, but he had a huge heart. She found herself wondering yet again, just what had happened that made her mom want to leave all of this behind.

-----------------------------------------------

"So are you and Jess doin' anything tonight?" Richard asked, pulling into the driveway.

"I've been invited for supper with him and his grandma."

"So you'll finally get to meet Wendy? That's great. You two'll get along fine. Just don't play cards with her. She'll take all your damn money and gloat about it to everybody she comes across," Richard laughed.

Rory laughed, "Dually noted." Then she grew nervous again. "I hope she likes me. I really want her to."

Richard patted her hand before shutting off the truck. "Trust your ole Grandpa on this one. It'll all be okay."

Emily greeted them at the door. "I know you had lunch already, but I just made a peach pie if you've got room."

"I've always got room for your peach pie," Richard said lovingly, kissing her on the cheek before heading into the kitchen.

"I've got room too," Rory said walking through the door.

"I've got a little surprise for you, Rory. I bought a phone to put in your room so you can have a little privacy when you're talkin' to Jess and Paris and whoever else you might wanna call. I put a notepad up there too with their phone numbers on it. I wasn't sure if you knew them yet or not."

"Thanks, Grandma, " Rory said giving her a big hug.

"You're welcome. Now let's go get some pie before that Grandpa of yours eats it all," Emily said putting her arm around Rory and walking into the kitchen.

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Rory sighed for the tenth time in a row. "This sucks!" she exclaimed. 

She walked over to the phone recently put in her room and dialed Paris' number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Babette. Is Paris home?"

"Rory? Is that you Suga?

"It's me."

"Sure, she's home. Just a sec._Paris!_" 

Rory had to pull the phone away from her ear as Babette's shrill shout exploded through the earpiece.

"She'll be right here. How ya doin', Sweetie?"

"Good. I'm really. How are you?"

"I'm just fine. Lots of business lately. It's gettin' so hot people are wantin' their hair cut off left and right. And of course they know I got the best gossip in town. I'm booked from open to close."

Rory chuckled. "I'm sure you do have the best gossip. That's great that business is going so well."

"Yeah. So Paris tells me you and Jess were kissin' up a storm last night. Who made the first move?"

"Mama! Have you no shame?"

Rory laughed as Paris' voice came into the background.

"It's fine, Babette. He kissed me first, but I initiated the second one."

"Well, you get yours girl!" Babette chuckled before saying her goodbyes and handing the phone off to Paris.

"Sorry 'bout her. There's just stoppin' her sometimes," Paris said as she came onto the line.

"It's fine," Rory assured her. 

"So, I didn't get to ask before you left last night, how did the whole you-and-Jess-kissin' thing happen?"

"We were looking at the stars because I never get the chance to see them in Hartford and I saw my first shooting star. I closed my eyes to make my wish and then Jess just kissed me. I kissed him back and we decided to be together and kissed some more. Then he drove me home and we kissed even more," Rory said a bit dreamy.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Paris gushed. "I knew you'd be together before too long."

"Apparently, so did everyone else," Rory chuckled. "But I called because I kind of have a problem. Jess' grandma invited me over to eat tonight, but I have no clue what to wear. I want to make a good impression because now that we're together it's even more important that she like me."

"Relax. I'm sure you've heard this a lot, but Wendy is the sweetest woman in the world and she'll love you. So calm down, wear your new floral skirt, light blue tanktop, leave you hair down and have fun."

"You're a life saver, Paris. Thank you so much."

"No problem. Be sure to call me tomorrow and tell me how it all went."

"I will."

"Bye, Rory."

"Bye, Paris. Thanks again."

Rory hung up feeling a little more calm. She fought the urge to call Jess again. She had talked to him earlier that morning when he called and then again shortly after returning home from her day with Richard. Giving the phone one last long look, she walked back to her closet to grab the suggested items and set about getting ready for the evening.

---------------------------------------------

Rory gave herself a look in the full lenth mirror on the back of the bathroom door. Her skirt was black with blue flowers on it. It was made of light, flowy, silky material and fell just below her knees. Her light blue tank top enhanced the color of her eyes and showed off the faint tan she'd acquired since being on the farm. Light blue flip-flops completed the outfit. She had taken Paris' advice and left her hair down, curling it a little so that it fell in soft waves down her back. She applied very light makeup and finally satisfied with her looks, she walked down the stairs to sit with Richard and Emily until Jess arrived.

"Well Rory, don't you look beautiful," Emily said as she came into the room.

"Thanks. I tried."

"And you've suceeded," Richard spoke up.

Rory was sitting on the couch watching the news with Richard and Emily when she heard Jess' truck coming up the driveway.

"I guess I'm going. I'll be home later. Bye, Grandma and Grandpa."

"Bye, Sweetie," Emily said. "Tell Wendy we say hello."

"Bye, Rory. Don't you be nervous. You look stunnin'."

Rory smiled and walked to the door opening it just as Jess was preparing to knock. She stopped to take him in. She was used to seeing him in worn out jeans, steel-toed boots, and beaten in cotton t-shirts. Tonight he was wearing a white button down shirt and black slacks. He usually had his mop of unruly hair covered with a hat but tonight he'd tamed it a bit with a little gel.

Her eyes drifted back to his face to notice him checking her outfit out too. He leaned forward and right as he's lips brushed hers he whispered, "You look absolutely beautiful."

Jess' words and his sweet kiss made Rory weak in the knees. Pulling back she whispered in return, "And you look extremely handsome."

Jess smiled before kissing her again and helping her inside the truck. Rory smiled as he held her hand the short drive. She then noticed that the driveway he pulled into was very similar to her grandparent's but not as steep, instead it remained flat the whole way. And at the end of the drive, surrounded by trees, was a white 2-story farmhouse.

As Jess climbed out of the truck and came around to help Rory out, her nerves came back full force. "Jess," she whispered. "I'm a little nervous. I really want her to like me."

Jess turned to face her and took her face in his hands. "You have absolutely nothin' to worry about. She'll adore you. I can promise you that, Darlin'," he said before gently kissing her lips. When he pulled away he took her hand to lead her up the front steps and inside the house.

The front door opened into a hallway with the walls on either side covered in framed photos. She saw pictures of a younger Jess, Paris and her family, several of Richard and Emily over the years, and many, many group shots of people. There were also pictures of animals, landscapes, vehicles, businesses, signs. There were so many frames Rory could barely see the floral pattern on the wallpaper.

Jess opened a door on the right and it led into the living room that was also covered in framed photos.

"Grandmama prides herself on her picture collection," Jess chuckled.

"I can't believe how many there are," Rory said in awe.

"She has albums full too. She used to be real into photography, but that was back before her back started goin' out and she could stand around more without hurtin' her feet."

"Does she have ones of you as a cowboy? I really want to see you as a cowboy," Rory told him, eagerly.

"Not anywhere I know of. She kept tryin' to put 'em up, but I would keep takin' 'em down and hidin' 'em."

"Mean." Rory stuck her tongue out at him.

Jess laughed, "Come on." He pulled her out of the living room, through the dining room and into the kitchen.

The first thing Rory noticed was the woman she assumed to be Wendy standing on a chair, tiptoeing on the very edge, reaching for something in the back of a cabinet.

"Grandmama! What do you think you're doin'?" Jess shouted. "Get down from there. Let me get it."

"Oh my heavens, Jess. How many times do I have to tell you? I'm old, I ain't crippled."

"I know that. I do, but please let me get it," he pleaded, walking over and helping her down from the chair.

"I up and ran right outta flour. My extra is up in that cabinet there."

Jess grabbed the bag from the cabinet she was pointing to and placed it on the counter. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before turning back to Rory. "Grandmama, this Rory. Rory this is my grandma, Wendy."

"Hi," Rory said shyly. "It's nice to meet you."

"Oh my stars and stripes," she clasped her hands together. "You've grown to be quite the beautiful young lady," she said pulling Rory into a warm embrace.

Rory felt much more at ease. Wendy was a couple inches shorter than she was with short white hair and kind brown eyes. She was dressed in a light blue dress with a white apron over top of it.

"It is nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much 'bout you from Richard and Emily. And Jess of course." She winked in Jess' direction.

"I've heard a lot about you too," Rory said.

"You look so much your grandma when she was younger. I reckon I've known her for 'bout 40 years now. Great woman. And you sure do favor her."

"Thanks. I mostly get told I look like my mom."

"Oh yes, Dear. I can see that too. Your mom always was quite the beauty as well. How's she doin'?"

"She's good. She keeps pretty busy. She plans parties and events and stuff. Mostly for my dad's office, but for a couple other businesses too."

"She always did prefer that city life style. Not my taste, but I'm not one to judge," she said with a wave of her hand.

Rory smiled. "It's not really my taste either."

Wendy squeezed Rory's shoulder gently. "Well, kids, I expect supper'll be done in just a little bit. Jess why don't you go show Rory around and I'll call you when it's ready?"

"Okay. Do you need anything else? I don't want to come back in here and have another heartattack because my grandma thinks she's invincible or somethin'."

"Oh you get out of here," Wendy chuckled, playfully slapping at Jess with a dishtowel.

Jess ducked, laughing and took Rory's hand leading her back into the dining room.

"Okay, so that was the kitchen. Here we are back in the dinin' room. We mostly use it for Sunday supper, holidays, birthdays, and when we have company. Grandaddy made that table for Grandmama. It was his weddin' present to her."

Rory noticed the ornate carvings on the dark oak table and the backs of the chairs. "It's gorgeous," she told him, running her finger over the designs.

"And now let's go back in the livin' room."

Rory could see more now and saw worn in furniture draped with crocheted blankets. There was a small television in the corner. Jess walked over to a framed photo next to a lamp on a table.

"These is my Grandaddy, Joe."

"Wow. You look a lot like him." Rory noticed they had very similar physical features and Jess had his exact posture.

"People always tell me that. I take it as a compliment. It's even better when they tell me I act like him. He was a great man. If I could live my life to do half of what he did it'd be a great life."

"I wish I could've met him."

Jess squeezed her hand. "I know he would've really liked you."

Rory smiled. "I'm sure I would have liked him too."

Jess leaned over and kissed Rory. "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the house."

The other rooms downstairs consisted of Wendy's bedroom, Wendy's sewing room, mud room, utility room, and a bathroom.

"My favorite part of the house is upstairs," Jess said, leading her up. "Here is the guest room." Jess opened the door and Rory saw a room with a large iron framed bed with a dresser and a tv. There was also a pile of Wendy's crocheted blankets on the end of the bed.

"It's cozy," Rory smiled.

"In here's where I spend a lot of my time," Jess said, opening another door and pulling Rory inside.

"Wow," was all Rory could muster. The room was full of overstuffed, wall-to-wall bookshelves. There was a large area rug in the center of the floor and a chaise lounge and floor lamp in front of a large window. "I could live in here."

"I've lost hours of my life in here," Jess informed her.

"My collection is nothing compared to this," Rory said, amazed.

"Well, Grandmama and Grandaddy started it years ago. I just...added on."

Rory walked by the shelves, running her fingers across the spines of the books. "Some of these I haven't even heard of."

"You can borrow any you want anytime you want."

"Thanks. I'm definitely going to be taking you up on that offer."

"Um, my room is right across the hall if you want to see it."

"Sure," Rory nodded.

She took Jess' offered hand and followed him across the hall.

"It's not exactly the cleanest ever, but here it is."

Rory looked around and smiled. A double bed sat in the middle of the floor with a black and white plaid comforter crumpled up in the middle. There was a desk in the corner with a computer on it. A TV sat on a cart with movies on the shelf below it. An elaborate stereo system sat in another corner with stacks and stacks of CDs piled around it. A telescope was pointed towards a window. The walls were covered in musical posters and baseball memorbilla. Clothes and shoes spilled out of his closet. A trail of clothes led the way into his bathroom.

"It suits you," Rory squeezed his hand. "I like it. A lot."

"Yeah? I really should have cleaned up, but I started readin' and before I knew it was time to get ready and come pick you up."

Rory shook her head. "I like it the way it is," she said pulling him over to sit on the bed. "Of Mice and Men. I love this book!" she exclaimed seeing his copy on top the stack of books on his nightstand.

"I'm readin' it for 'bout the 10th time."

"What's your favorite part?"

"When Lenny smashes Curley's hand."

"Mine too!" Rory said excitedly. "I'm not really for violence, but that jerk deserved it."

"I'm really glad you're here," Jess said softly, running his thumb along the back of her hand.

"I'm really glad I'm here too," Rory said in return.

Jess slowly leaned in and kissed her. Rory pulled her hand free of his to wrap around his shoulders to bring him even closer to her. Jess lightly stroked her bare shoulder with his knuckles causing Rory to shiver. He leaned his forehead against hers. "You really do look beautiful tonight."

Rory blushes. "Thanks."

"I like your hair down. It's so soft," he murmured, running his fingers through the locks. As his fingers began massaging her scalp, Rory moaned softly.

"I'll have to wear it down more often if this is what I get."

Jess smiled and kissed her again. "I'll give you whatever you want," he whispered in her ear, placing a kiss behind it.

"Jess," Rory hissed, clenching her fingers in his hair.

Jess froze for a moment comprehending the fact that Rory was currently sitting on his bed, hissing his name as he kissed her and ran his fingers through her hair. He came out of his haze as he heard Wendy's voice yelling that the food was ready.

Rory pecked his lips quickly before pulling back and asking, "Do I look presentable?"

Jess smiled. Her eyes were a little glazed over and her cheeks were flushed. Her lips were a little reddened and puffy. "You look amazin'," he said, running his fingers through her hair. "But my bathroom is right over there if you wanna double check."

Rory nodded and walked over to the bathroom, chuckling as she saw it was in a state much like his bedroom. His sink was piled full of toothpaste, floss, deodorant, shaving gel, a razor, and a bottle of cologne. She manuevered around all that to splash a little cold water on her face to calm herself down. She ran her fingers through her hair and smiling, turned the light off and walked out of the room. She walked back over to Jess and held her hand out for him to take as they walked back down to the kitchen.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Rory, I hope you like tenderloin."

"I'll eat pretty much anything. I'm not picky when it comes to food."

Wendy laughed. "I can see why Jess likes you, Dear."

Rory and Jess caught each other's gaze and smiled. Jess squeezed her hand.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Rory asked.

"Oh no, Honey. You're the guest of honor. You and Jess go have a seat in the dinin' room and I'll be right in with the food."

Rory nodded and followed Jess into the dining room. Jess held out the chair for Rory and taking the seat next to her as Wendy started bringing out the dishes of food and pitcher of sweet tea. After she'd brought in the last dish Jess came around to her side of the table to help her into the seat across from him and Rory.

"Thanks, Sweetie. Rory you help yourself to whatever you want," Wendy said smiling at her.

"Thanks," Rory said and began filling her plate. She smiled at Jess as he placed a glass of sweet tea in front of her plate.

"Everything tastes great," Rory said, putting more on her plate.

Wendy smiled. "Well, thank you, Honey. I'm glad you like it. I wasn't too sure what you liked so I just made a little bit of everything."

"It's really good."

"I have to agree with Rory, Grandmama. You really outdid yourself this time," Jess said putting more food on his plate as well.

"It's nothin'," Wendy said with a wave of her hand. "So, Rory, Jess tells me you're a bookworm like him."

Rory smiled. "It's true. I love to read."

"I do too. Always have. In fact, that's how I met my Joe. I was at the library same time as him and we both reached for a copy of Moby Dick. I let him check the book out first and he bought me lunch to thank him. We married a year later."

"And they still got the urge to read the same book at the same time at least once a month durin' their whole marriage," Jess chuckled.

"Jess used to missin' for hours and we'd always find him hidin' away somewhere with his nose in a book."

"Grandmama," Jess mumbled, shifting in his seat. "We talked about this. No embarrassin' stories from when I was kid."

Rory and Wendy laughed before Rory turned a teasing look at Jess. "So I've heard stories about Jess wanting to be a cowboy when he was younger, but he says he doesn't know where any pictures are."

"Oh, Honey, I've got tons I hid from him. After supper we'll go in the livin' room and I'll show 'em to you."

"Grandmama!" Jess protested.

"Oh, hush you. It's nothin' to be ashamed of." She turned to Rory. "He was the cutest little thing. Always rippin' and runnin' in his boots and hat. Hell, most days you had to wrestle him into somethin' other than just the boots and hat."

Jess was the color of the tomatoes on the table.

"That is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever heard," Rory said, smiling at Jess.

"And the most embarrassin'," Jess said.

Rory reached under the table and patted Jess' leg. "I already told you I wore fairy wings and had a wand for years."

"Are there pictures?" Jess smirked.

Rory flushed. "I'll see what I can do."

"You do that."

As they continued to eat, Wendy realized more and more just why her grandson was so crazy about Rory. She was softspoken, but was still able to hold her own in a conversation. She made Jess smile more than Wendy had ever seen him smile. She made sure to bring Wendy back into the conversation when her and Jess got lost in each other's words. She was pretty on the outside and irrestibly charming on the inside. She reminded Wendy even more of a younger Emily.

Rory couldn't believe she had been so nervous about meeting Wendy. She had made her feel incredibly at home. She loved to tell stories of Jess's childhood, despite his pleas to get her to stop, but she also told ones of her own, of her life with Joe, and several of Richard and Emily.

"I hope you kids saved room because I've got fudge pie for desert." 

"Grandmama's fudge pie has won awards in the tri-county area. People come from miles around to get a bite," Jess informed her proudly, winking at Wendy as she sat slices in front of him and Rory.

Rory took a bite. "I can see why," she exclaimed. "This is amazing."

"Thank you, Sweetie. If you'd like, I'll send you home with some leftovers and put you another piece of pie in there."

Rory's eyes lit up. "I'd love that."

Jess couldn't be happier that Rory and Wendy were getting along so well. He'd only introduced Wendy to one other girl he'd dated, and that was only because they bumped into her during their grocery shopping. Wendy never said anything directly, but Jess could tell she didn't like who he had chosen to date. She was never rude to her, but Jess could just feel that she didn't agree with his choice of a girlfriend. Rory, on the other hand, he could tell Wendy already adored her. And the same went for Rory. As he watched Rory's eyes dance with merriment as she told Wendy about the sheer enjoyment she got from learning to ride a horse, he slipped his hand under the table and rested it on her bare knee. Rory faltered for a moment in her story. Jess' skin touching hers always sent chills down her spine. She recovered quickly and slid her hand under the table to rest on top of his. Jess continued to stare for another moment before joining in on the conversation.

------------------------------------------------------------------

"And here's another of one of Jess feedin' calves in his hat and boots."

"You can stop anytime, Grandmama."

"Aww, Jess, don't be a spoilsport. You're so cute."

Jess' blush deepend. "Well, just don't spend the whole night lookin' at embarrassin' pictures of me. There's still some stuff I wanna show you."

Wendy showed Rory a few more pictures before saying, "Alright, Honey. I've kept you to myself long enough. I'm gonna go clean up the kitchen and let you two kids have some time to yourselves."

"Thanks, Grandmama," Jess said grabbing Rory's hand, ready to pull her away.

"Thanks for showing me the pictures of Jess and my grandparents."

"It was my pleasure. You can come by and see me anytime you want and I'll show you the rest of 'em. I got more somewhere 'round here."

"I'll definitely be visting you, and not just because of the pictures. I've enjoyed spending time with you." Rory said smiling.

Wendy reached out and grasped the hand that Jess wasn't holding. "And I've enjoyed spendin' time with you. I've been dyin' to meet you for so long. I saw you a couple times when you was a baby, but you probably don't remember that. You are so much like Emily and I'm glad that Jess is so sweet on you. I couldn't have picked a better girl for my Jess if I'd tried." 

Rory was speechless. She let go of Jess' hand and reached out to embrace Wendy. "Thanks," she whispered in her ear.

Wendy patted her back gently before pulling away and saying, "Well, you kids go be young and have fun. I'm gonna get in there and clean that kitchen. Rory, I'm gonna make up a plate for you take back and leave on the counter, but you come and tell me bye before you leave, ya hear?"

Rory nodded. "I will."

"Now get out of here," she chuckled and waved them away.

Jess once again reached for Rory's hand and lead her outside. "So, feelin' better about meetin' her?"

Rory gave him a bright smile. "Much better. I can definitely see where you got your sweetness from," she told him placing a kiss on his cheek.

Jess squeezed her hand. "Come on. I wanna show you somethin'."

He led her to a small building behind the house. After unhooking his keys from his belt he unlocked the door and pulled her inside. Rory tightened her grip on his hand until he found the light switch. As light flooded the room, Rory looked around. They were in a workshop of sorts. There were piles of wood along one of the walls and a table full of power tools in the back. 

"This was my Grandaddy's workshop. Besides farmin' he built furniture. I took over after he died. You know that headboard on your bed? I built it after Richard told me you were comin' for the summer and liked to read."

Rory looked at him for a moment and he stared back just as intently. She suddenly reached up and pulled him to her, kissing him with all she had. 

"Well if that's the thanks I get for buildin' one headboard, I'll gladly build a dozen more," he said huskily after they pulled away.

Rory blushed. "It wasn't just for the headboard. It was for you being so nice to my grandparents. And for treating your grandma so well. And being so nice to me. And just for being you."

Jess pulled her into a tight embrace. He inhaled the sweet strawberry scent of her hair and placed a kiss on her forehead and then her nose before leaning his head on top of hers. "I feel the same about you. You didn't have to be so nice to Grandmama and you didn't have to spend all this time with you grandparents. But you did and you're here."

"I'm glad I'm here," Rory whispered into his chest were her face was still pressed.

"I'm glad you're here too," Jess whispered back, echoing their earlier statements from his bedroom.

Jess held on to her for a little longer before pulling away and saying, "There's some other stuff I wanna show you too."

He took her for a walk along the beaten path around the house. As they walked they talked about anything they could think of, trying to get to know each other even more. After they made there way back around the house, Jess pulled Rory over to a tree along the side of the yard. "I used to spend hours in this tree when I was younger. I'd climb it and stay up there all day."

"My mom never let me climb trees. She always said stuff like 'That's not how a proper lady behaves.' Although I'm pretty sure if she would have let me I probably would have broken my neck. I'm not the most graceful person," she chuckled.

"Well, if you ever want to climb a tree, I'll help you and I won't tell your mom you did it," Jess said smirking.

"Good to know," Rory smiled. Then she noticed something hanging from the next tree over. "Is that a tire swing?" she asked, pulling Jess towards it.

"Sure is. I used to love that thing. Grandaddy put it up when I was 'bout 5 years old. I think Grandmama put him up to it. She never did like me climbin' trees. I think it was her way of keepin' me as close to the ground as she could."

"Can I try it out?" Rory asked shyly.

"Sure. I'll push you."

Rory immediately kicked her flip flops off and allowed Jess to help her into the swing. Wearing a skirt made getting in the swing difficult so Jess just picked her up allowing her to push her legs through the middle. 

Jess waited until she was situated and pulled the tire back so that her back was pressed up against his chest. "Ready?" he asked.

Rory shivered as his breath blew across her ear. "Yep."

Jess let go of the tire and it went forward. His heart warmed at the sound of Rory's giggles as he continued to push her forward. He laughed as she held her arms out to the sides and shrieked with delight. It was great seeing her so carefree. From what she had told him about her life in Connecticut she wasn't allowed to have much fun. She was forced to go to a school full of girls she didn't really get along with and when she was home her parents made it seem as if she wasn't wanted there. He was glad that she was having so much fun so far and he was determined to make sure her summer was the best she'd ever had.

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After Rory was finished swinging she noticed how late it was getting and that she needed to get back to her grandparents house. She was reluctant to leave but she knew that Jess had to get up early the next morning and she didn't want him to be sleep deprived because of her.

She told her goodbyes to Wendy, repeatedly thanking her for the leftovers she was sending back with her, and promising to visit her as soon as she could.

Jess led her out of the house, one hand holding onto Rory's food and the other hand wrapped tightly around Rory's. He helped her into the truck, handing the food to her before climbing in his side. As he started the engine, Rory shifted in the seat to the middle so that she was right next him. As Jess backed out of his driveway she rested her hand on his knee and said, "Thanks for such a great time tonight."

Jess leaned over to peck her lips briefly before shifting his eyes back to the windshield. "Anytime. Like Grandmama said, you are welcome here anytime."

"Even if it's only to look at embarassing pictures of you when you were younger?" Rory asked grinning.

Jess groaned. "If that makes you happy then I guess it's alright with me."

"You really are something else," Rory laughed shifting as close to him as her seatbelt would allow.

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As Jess pulled into the Gilmore's driveway he wished it wasn't so late. He had spent roughly 6 hours with Rory and he wanted more. He was addicted. She hadn't been in Kentucky for long at all and she already had him and everyone else she'd met wrapped around her finger. The best part was that she didn't even realize just how wrapped they all were. He hated how she felt in Connecticut and promised himself yet again that he would make her summer very memorable.

Rory turned to Jess after he walked her to the door. "I don't tonight to end."

Jess wrapped an arm around her. "I don't either, Darlin', but it has to. Just know that you can come and see me on the farm anytime you want. And I'll see you at lunch and we'll go ridin' tomorrow evenin'."

Rory smiled. "I'd like that."

Jess tilted her face up to kiss her. "Sweet dreams, Darlin'."

Rory smiled and kissed him again. "Goodnight Jess."

Jess kissed her one more time before making sure she got inside okay and heading home himself.

Rory was still smiling to herself as she put her plate of food in the refrigerator. She couldn't get over how sweet Wendy was and how great Jess was. It was getting harder and harder to part from him. But as she was changing into her pajamas she remembered that Jess had said she could see him anytime she wanted to the next day. She hoped sleep would come quickly because the sooner she fell asleep, the sooner she would wake up and see Jess again. She couldn't wait.

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AN: Thanks for reading and please review when finished.


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